SpaceX aired a surprise announcement during its scrubbed May 21 Starship V3 launch attempt: cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang plans a privately funded Starship flyby mission to Mars that would include a lunar flyby and a roughly two-hour close encounter with the Red Planet. No launch date, crew list, or technical timeline were provided. Starship has not yet completed orbital missions or carried astronauts beyond Earth orbit, so significant technical milestones remain before such a mission could proceed. Wang says the trip is intended to inspire public interest and deliver new images of Mars.
Cryptocurrency Billionaire Chun Wang Announces Private Starship Flyby Mission To Mars — No Date Set
Credit: SpaceX/Fram2
During SpaceX's scrubbed May 21 Starship V3 launch attempt, the company surprised observers by airing an announcement from cryptocurrency billionaire Chun Wang: he plans a privately funded Starship flyby mission to Mars.
Billionaire Chun Wang, seen here in his SpaceX spacesuit training for SpaceX's private Fram2 polar space mission, will fly by Mars on the first interplanetary SpaceX Starship spacecraft, the company says. | Credit: Fram2/SpaceX
What Wang Announced
Wang delivered the announcement in a recorded message played during SpaceX's live commentary as the countdown was halted. Speaking from remote Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic, he described the plan as a Mars flyby that would include a lunar flyby en route and a roughly two-hour close encounter with the Red Planet.
Chun Wang announced his private Starship flight to Mars from Bouvet Island in the South Atlantic, one of the most remote islands on Earth. | Credit: SpaceX
"So it's going to be a flyby mission of Mars," Wang said in the video. "A lot of people talk about Mars. We like Mars, we're gonna land on Mars. We're gonna do a city on Mars. But let's get it started with a flyby."
SpaceX and Wang did not provide a target launch date, a crew roster, or technical details. It is important to note that Starship vehicles have not yet completed a successful orbital flight, nor have they carried astronauts to lunar orbit or beyond. Any private Mars flyby therefore depends on multiple major technical milestones that SpaceX still needs to demonstrate.
SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announces Japanese entrepreneur Yusaku Maezawa's private spaceflight around the moon on the Big Falcon Rocket, the previous name for Starship, in 2018. | Credit: SpaceX
Wang's Background And Mission Profile
Wang previously flew on SpaceX's private Fram2 mission in 2025, a 3.5-day flight that carried four private astronauts over Earth's poles. In the SpaceX video, he said he expects the mission profile to include long transit legs to and from Mars and that the close flyby itself would last about two hours.
Polaris Dawn commander Jared Isaacman is silhouetted against Earth as he becomes the first private astronaut to perform an EVA (extravehicular activity) on Thursday, Sept. 12, 2024. A trip on SpaceX's Starship was to be the third Polaris flight. | Credit: SpaceX
SpaceX characterized the planned flight as an opportunity to attempt several novel maneuvers and to capture new imagery of Mars, which Wang hopes will inspire broader interest in exploration of the Red Planet.
Context: Other Private Starship Bookings
Wang is the latest wealthy private backer publicly associated with booking time on SpaceX's Starship. High-profile earlier examples include:
- Yusaku Maezawa, who announced the dearMoon project in 2018 to fly artists and creators around the moon; he canceled his Starship plan in 2025 after long delays and later flew to the International Space Station on a Soyuz seat he purchased.
- Dennis Tito, the world’s first paying space tourist in 2001, who has expressed interest in lunar missions and previously proposed private Mars concepts.
- Jared Isaacman, who funded Inspiration4 in 2021 and later the Polaris program; Isaacman has purchased multiple private missions with SpaceX but has not become a government space agency official.
What Comes Next
Major technical, regulatory and safety milestones must be achieved before a private Starship Mars flyby can occur. SpaceX still needs to demonstrate reliable orbital operations for Starship, uncrewed landing and recovery procedures, and coordination with regulators for deep-space and crewed missions. NASA has selected SpaceX for a Starship-derived lunar lander for Artemis, and the agency has discussed docking and landing demonstrations in the coming years as program milestones.
Why This Matters
Whether or not Wang's mission flies as envisioned, the announcement highlights growing private interest in deep-space missions and raises key questions about timelines, crew safety, and how commercial ambitions will mesh with government exploration plans. Wang says the mission aims to "light the fire" and make Mars feel more immediate by returning new images and firsthand perspectives.
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