Chun Wang has always been a traveler. He has counted every single one of his flights.
On Monday night, Wang with three other polar explorers blasted off where no other human in 64 years of spaceflight has ever gone: over both of Earth’s poles in a single mission.
The Chinese-born cryptocurrency billionaire and his fellow explorers launched into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Their mission, Fram2, is the first human spaceflight to enter a true polar orbit, which had previously been reserved for satellites and spy crafts, never for astronauts.
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Chun Wang. X/@RodolfoYoshii
“This trip is about pushing boundaries, sharing knowledge,” Wang said ahead of lift-off.
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For three and a half days, Wang and his crew will circle Earth from pole to pole every 90 minutes, observing the world from an altitude of 270 miles (430 kilometers). Unlike astronauts on the International Space Station, who orbit at an inclination of about 51.6 degrees and never see the poles.
A billionaire adventurer
42-year-old Wang is also the former co-founder of F2Pool, once the world’s largest Bitcoin mining operation, Wang made his fortune in blockchain technology and has since pursued an insatiable thirst for adventure.
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Chun Wang. X/@RodolfoYoshii
Born in Tianjin, China, he later moved across Asia before settling in Malta, where he became a citizen in 2023.
Wang has kept meticulous records of his travels. He has taken 854 high-speed train rides in a single year. He has covered 75,900 km on rail alone. Wang has already visited the polar regions in person.
But space—this was the final frontier.
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Queen Maud Land(Map shared by Wang). X/@satofishi
“I picked up a world map at age five by chance from my grandpa,” Wang wrote in a 2023 social media post, alongside pictures of his travels. “The lower part was a myth as it was all blank white with just a few names around. Queen Maud Land was one that stood out. I didn’t even know how to break the word. But this place has stuck with me ever since.”
Now, he is finally seeing it from above.
Fram 2
The Fram2 mission named after ‘Fram’ (Norwegian word for forward), includes a carefully selected crew of polar veterans. Accompanying Wang are Norwegian filmmaker Jannicke Mikkelsen, German robotics researcher Rabea Rogge, and Australian polar guide Eric Philips.
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Fram2 - the first human spaceflight to explore Earth's polar regions. @X/SpaceX
Mikkelsen, the first Norwegian astronaut, had previously flown over the poles in a Gulfstream jet. This time, she’s seeing them from space. “It’s a dream come true,” she said.
The crew has planned 24 scientific experiments, including the first-ever human X-rays in space. They’re also carrying a small but symbolic relic: a wooden piece of the original Fram ship, signed by explorer Oscar Wisting, who with Roald Amundsen was the first to reach both poles in the early 1900s.
A price he won’t name
Wang pitched the idea of a polar orbit flight to SpaceX in 2023, just two years after billionaire Jared Isaacman launched the first private space mission with the company.
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Chun Wang. X/@satofishi
He won’t say how much he paid for the privilege, but it’s likely in the hundreds of millions.
“Spaceflight is becoming increasingly routine, and honestly, I’m happy to see that,” Wang posted on X last week.
Routine or not, Fram2 is a first. Until now, no astronaut has ever seen Earth from this vantage point.
And for Wang, it marks the culmination of a journey, one that began with a blank spot on a childhood map.