At a time when technology and art are intertwined in dynamic ways, it is becoming increasingly common for artists to seek new, unconventional media and platforms for their work. An example is Thanks xa renowned digital artist best known for his street art and innovative approach to digital creations.
ThankYouX, also known as Ryan Wilson, is no stranger to pushing boundaries. He began his career on the streets of Los Angeles painting spray paint, but soon moved on to embrace digital art, earning international acclaim for his unique style that combines traditional elements with futuristic design.
On May 21, 2023, during a remarkable event that marked a historic crossroads between art, technology and space exploration, ThankYouX’s NFT, Drive for perfection, launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. This manned mission – dubbed AX-2 – is the second private launch by Axiom Space, a private space company that has previously launched NFTs into orbit. His work spent about 15 hours on the craft before docking with the International Space Station (ISS) on May 22.
“It was the most surreal experience to see a rocket take my art to space,” ThankYouX said in an interview with nft now. “I met the head of NASA, Bill Nelson, which was pretty cool.”
Axiom reached out to ThankYouX about the opportunity when they found out how much he loves space, and he immediately said yes. The crew of four (and the NFT) will remain on board the ISS for eight days.
“They take my art out and let it float around,” ThankYouX continued. “When the painting comes back to Earth, we will auction it.” This bold venture prompts us to recall other cases where NFTs transcended the boundaries of our planet to touch the cosmos. Here are some of the unforgettable moments.
from Micah Johnson Why not me
Former Major League Baseball player turned recording artist sent Micah Johnson Why not me to space on July 28, 2021, making it one of the first NFTs to fly to space and the first NFT painting to do so. The artwork features his character Aku, a young black astronaut who represents possibilities and dreams, especially for underrepresented communities.
The digital artwork was sent by Nanoracks LLC and Artemis Music Entertainment to a server on the ISS, where it orbited the Earth. Johnson’s intention was not only to push the boundaries of art, but also to inspire a generation of black and brown children to dream without limits.
Why not me was then auctioned with the proceeds going to Students for the Exploration and Development of Space.
light of the moon music NFT
Aku was not alone on his journey to the ISS in July 2021. He was joined by the first music NFT to travel to space: that of Claude Debussy light of the moon. The digital file, performed by Hong Kong-based pianist Wing-Chong Kam, orbited the Earth for about 90 minutes before being sent back and beaten as an NFT.
This technological milestone is just a first step for Artemis Music Entertainment, the company behind the mission. Radiant the light of the moon NFT to the ISS was done to test its Artemis Space Network, a space-based commercial platform for arts, music and entertainment. In the future, other digital artists could follow Aku and Debussy’s legacy – to the ISS, the moon, Mars and beyond.
The first NFTs created in space
Atlas is an innovative NFT series of Xin Liu which merges the digital realm with the analog, using radio frequencies from retired weather satellites to create unique cartographic images. Launched by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in 1998, these decommissioned satellites provided data that Liu translated into images that resembled Xerox copies of surveillance photos of Earth’s mountainous regions.
The project began during the early COVID-19 quarantine when Liu and her partner, Gershon Dublon, began tuning into open analog radio channels. This led them to open-source platforms that allowed individuals to receive signals from retired NOAA satellites. Liu then transformed these signals into an NFT series, linking each downloaded satellite image to the code of the original frequency as part of his blockchain. The series has been hailed as the first NFTs created in space.
Honorable Mention: Retired Astronaut Makes NFTs
While these NFT collections never made it out of Earth’s atmosphere, we’d be remiss if we didn’t include the digital art of former NASA astronaut Scott Kelly on this list. Kelly launched his first 3,333-piece NFT collection on April 12, 2022, titled Dream not of this world. The initiative was very successful: all pieces were sold within six hours and raised approximately $435,000. Proceeds went to the non-profit organization Global Empowerment Mission.
Kelly has now started the second phase of dreaming of this world, featuring a new NFT collection of 15 images he captured during his record-breaking 340 days aboard the ISS, each accompanied by his personal audio narration.
Each of these examples has pushed the boundaries of art and technology, proving that creativity knows no bounds.
Editor’s Note: This article was written by an nft now contributor in collaboration with OpenAI’s GPT-4.
