Elon Musk's SpaceX will send a satellite named DOGE-1 to the moon.

The DOGE-1 mission will send a 40 kg CubeSat satellite into orbit in early 2022 by SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket. The payload will be launched by a company called Geometric Energy Corporation and paid for entirely in Dogecoin.

"To the moon!" is a cry that has been used regularly in connection with this cryptocurrency recently. This cryptocurrency is now one of the top cryptocurrency performers and has skyrocketed in value to the point where it is worth more than Ford.

Next year's launch will make that call a reality, with the satellite's mission being to "obtain lunar spatial information from onboard sensors and cameras along with integrated communications and computing systems."

Musk has long championed cryptocurrency, which began as a joke against Bitcoin, by regularly tweeting about its potential. And predictably, Tesla's CEO was overjoyed by the news, declaring the mission to be "the first crypto in space" and "the first meme in space."

In a perhaps sarcastic statement, SpaceX Vice President of Commercial Sales Tom Ocinello said the mission would "demonstrate the application of cryptocurrency beyond Earth orbit and lay the foundation for interplanetary commerce. We are excited to launch DOGE-1 to the Moon!"

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Musk also teased the announcement in March, tweeting that SpaceX intended to "put a literal Dogecoin on the literal moon."

The news helped Dogecoin rise after a nasty weekend in which its value fell more than 30% after Musk called Dogecoin a "hustle" during his Saturday Night Live hosting gig.

Musk's guest hosting slot on the show was expected to take the meme coin to new heights, but instead it plunged from over 70 cents to just 43 cents. It has since risen to $0.59 and currently sits at $0.53.

Nevertheless, Dogecoin is one of the biggest crypto success stories of the year, having grown over 12,000% since January.