In a surprise reveal during the May 21, 2026 live webcast of the Starship Version 3 launch attempt from Starbase, Texas, SpaceX announced that cryptocurrency entrepreneur and adventurer Chun Wang will lead the company’s first private crewed interplanetary mission: a two-year round-trip flyby of Mars aboard Starship.
The announcement marks a major milestone in commercial spaceflight, extending private human exploration beyond Earth orbit for the first time. Wang, who commanded the groundbreaking Fram2 mission – the first human spaceflight to fly over Earth’s poles in a SpaceX Dragon capsule – will pilot what SpaceX is calling its inaugural human interplanetary voyage.
The mission will take Wang and his yet-to-be-named crew on a deep-space journey beyond the Earth-Moon system. The spacecraft will perform a close flyby of the Red Planet before returning to Earth, with the entire round trip expected to last approximately two years. A lunar flyby is also planned en route, serving as an early systems test.
Wang emphasized the mission’s role as a stepping stone: “We’re gonna land on Mars. We’re gonna do a city on Mars. But let’s get it started with a flyby.” He added that the experience will “light the fire… ignite the imagination, and… build the momentum,” allowing the public to see Mars up close through real photographs and making the planet feel like “a reality” rather than a distant dream.
No specific launch date or window has been announced. The mission will depend on Starship achieving full orbital flight, crew certification, and the complex orbital refueling architecture required for deep-space travel. The next Earth-Mars transfer windows open in late 2026 and 2028, but SpaceX has not committed to a target.
Chun Wang is a Maltese entrepreneur, adventurer, and co-founder of F2Pool, one of the world’s largest Bitcoin mining pools (controlling roughly 11% of the network’s hashrate). He has visited more than 150 countries and previously flew as commander of Fram2, a private four-person mission that achieved the first human polar orbit in 2025.
Wang described the Mars flyby as perfectly suited to his exploratory style: “This is actually for my style of fireworks… I think I’m going to enjoy the trip.”
This private mission builds on SpaceX’s long-standing Mars colonization vision. The company plans uncrewed Starship cargo flights to Mars starting no earlier than 2028 (with earlier test flights possibly in the 2026–2027 window) to deliver research equipment, infrastructure, and eventually Optimus robots. A self-sustaining city on Mars, Elon Musk has repeatedly stated, will eventually require upward of one million people and millions of tonnes of cargo.
The Wang mission represents the first human step in that direction under private funding, following a pattern of billionaire-backed flights such as Inspiration4, Axiom Space missions, Polaris Dawn (which included the first private spacewalk), and the canceled dearMoon lunar flyby.
SpaceX has also teased that Wang may first participate in a shorter circumlunar test flight with Dennis and Akiko Tito before the full Mars journey.
The announcement underscores the accelerating role of private capital in pushing the boundaries of human spaceflight. It comes at a pivotal moment for Starship, which has yet to complete a full orbital flight or carry crew, though rapid progress continues with Version 3 vehicles.
NASA is counting on Starship for the Artemis program’s lunar landings targeted for the late 2020s, adding further pressure and synergy. Success on this private flyby would validate critical systems – life support, radiation shielding, propulsion, and long-duration operations – needed for eventual crewed landings on Mars.
While timelines remain fluid and technical hurdles significant, the May 21, 2026 announcement signals that the era of private interplanetary human spaceflight has begun.
SpaceX’s vision of making life multiplanetary is no longer just a long-term goal – it now has its first private human passenger ticket booked for the Red Planet. As Wang put it, the journey starts with a flyby, but the destination is nothing less than a city on Mars.
