Dogecoin used to pay for lunar satellite mission with Spacex

HAWTHORNE: The rise of the cryptocurrency Dogecoin has reached a new level after the token was used to pay for a lunar satellite launch.

Spacex, Elon Musk’s commercial rocket firm, will embark on a Moon voyage in 2022 carrying a so-called cubesat—a mini-satellite used for space research— from Geometric Energy Corp. that’s been paid for entirely in Dogecoin.

The development is just the latest twist in the saga over the digital token, which started as a joke in 2013 but is now a dominating Internet meme and sitting on a 21,000% rally in the past year. Musk has been a key player in the drama, boosting the price with a succession of tweets in recent months.

The DOGE-1 Mission to the Moon is the first commercial lunar payload in history paid for entirely with Dogecoin, according to a statement from Geometric. The 40-kilogram (88 pounds) cubesat will launch aboard a Spacex Falcon 9 rocket.