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SpaceX Names Chun Wang to Lead Private Crewed Mars Flyby Mission
SpaceX announced plans for a private crewed mission that will fly around Mars and return to Earth. Cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang will lead both the Mars mission and a separate lunar flyby. The company provided no launch dates for either flight.
May 28, 1:14 PM·1m read1 source
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SpaceX announced in May that it is planning a two-year mission to send a crew of private astronauts around Mars before returning to Earth. The company also plans a separate lunar flyby before the Mars mission. The missions will use the Starship rocket. Starship has completed 12 test flights since 2023 but has not yet reached orbit.
SpaceX named cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang to lead both the lunar and Mars missions. Wang previously led the Fram2 mission in April 2025, which flew a private crew around Earth's poles aboard a Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule. SpaceX made the announcement on its website on May 21, one day before the next Starship test flight at its Starbase facility in South Texas. "
SpaceX did not provide launch dates for either mission.
The company is also under contract with NASA to develop a lunar lander version of Starship for the Artemis program, with a potential test targeted for 2027. Company founder Elon Musk has previously discussed plans for uncrewed Starship flights to Mars by the end of 2026, but those plans have shifted toward lunar development.
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