SERA, TON Blockchain to Send Astronauts via Telegram; Here’s How to Join

Key Takeaways:

1. The Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA) has launched a program allowing individuals to compete for an astronaut seat through community voting.
2. The process runs via Mission Control, a Telegram mini-app built on the TON blockchain, ensuring transparent, verifiable voting.
3. Candidates earn “SpaceDust” points by completing challenges, while community members vote to select the astronaut.
4. Six astronaut seats on an upcoming Blue Origin mission are allocated, with five for SERA’s partner nations and one open globally.
5. For TON, the initiative represents one of the most ambitious consumer-facing Web3 applications, showcasing blockchain use beyond financial services.

Nigeria will select its first community-chosen astronaut through an international initiative run by the Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA), with voting conducted on Telegram via the TON blockchain.

The program, launched by the U.S.-based Space Exploration & Research Agency (SERA), extends its “democratic astronaut” model to Nigeria, India, Indonesia, Brazil and Thailand, allowing citizens to apply through SERA’s Mission Control mini-app on Telegram, where voting and scoring are recorded directly on the TON blockchain.

To increase their chances of being selected, candidates must earn “SpaceDust” points by completing challenges, after which community members vote to determine who represents each country. Organizers said the use of blockchain ensures transparency by preventing manipulation of votes, while TON’s integration with Telegram makes participation accessible to millions of mobile-first users.

“SERA Mission Control represents space exploration reimagined for social media users,” said Max Crown, CEO of the TON Foundation. “By launching on TON within Telegram, SERA transforms space travel from a distant concept into an interactive, community-driven experience.”

This year’s program will allocate six seats, five for partner nations and one for a global candidate, with winners undergoing standard astronaut safety training, and if follows SERA’s 2022 success in sending Victor Hespanha, chosen through a similar process, on Blue Origin’s New Shepard rocket.

For TON, which began as a project linked to Telegram and has since developed into an open-source blockchain ecosystem, the partnership marks one of the most ambitious consumer-facing applications beyond payments and finance.

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