First Official Artwork Going To The Moon Revealed At Expo US Pavillon

The first ever official artwork to be placed on the Moon within the NASA CLPS initiative. Space industry organisations have teamed up with one of the world’s most celebrated artists Sacha Jafri to send the world’s first official artwork to the Moon. The artwork was revealed to the world today at a press conference at The USA Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai, UAE.

The Artwork will be placed on the surface of the Moon later this year by Spacebit, a company developing technology for space exploration, and Astrobotic Technology Inc., a company providing end-to-end delivery services for payloads to the Moon. The artistic/humanitarian aspect of the mission has been put together by Selenian, a company specialising in the curation of art in space.

This will be the first ever commercial lunar mission under the NASA Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative known as CLPS. The landing site where Jafri’s artwork is placed will then become a world heritage landmark preserved forever.

Spacebit and their partners have used an aerospace grade aluminium gold plate as canvas in order for Jafri’s Artwork to be fully resilient to the lunar conditions and to last eternally on the Moon, withstanding extreme conditions and temperatures of between -173 degrees Celsius to +123 degrees Celsius.

Jafri’s original Artwork will be placed on the surface of the Moon alongside NASA scientific payloads,together with other instruments and technologies from the mission partners. Jafri’s original pieceentitled ‘We Rise Together with the Light of the Moon’ will rest in the solitude of the Moon eternally.

Along with Jafri’s original Artwork, a series of Jafri Heart-NFTs, created by the Artist directly from his original piece, will launch alongside each stage of the mission – from the rocket launch entering the stratosphere, the Earth circumnavigation, the Moon sling-shot, the Moon landing, and the legacy of the eternal artwork on the Moon.

With Jafri’s most recent painting selling for a record-breaking USD$62m, the mission aims to raise as much money as possible in aid of the four main concerns of our world - Health, Education, Sustainability & Equality. The intention of creating a better future for our children and bringing a new hope to our planet.

In attendance at the Press Conference were Jennifer W. Lopez, Director of Business Development of Astrobotic Technology Inc.; Sacha Jafri, the Artist; PavloTanasyuk, Founder of Spacebit; and Selenian co-founders James Khazaei and Shahram Yazdani. NASA CLPS commented on the project:

“On the 50th Anniversary of our last landing on the moon, we are excited to announce this pioneering mission, collecting new data from our scientific payloads now heading to the moon, with exciting prospects of new findings, as technology and scientific research has developed immeasurably.

But this mission is particularly exciting to us, as with the unique additional add-on of partnering with the private sector including Spacebit, Selenian, Astrobotic, and one of the world’s most celebrated Artist/Humanitarians Sacha Jafri, we will be placing the first official Artwork on the surface of the Moon, funds from which will serve to aid Humanity back on Earth. An unprecedented moment in history, and a mission like no other, that we are proud to be a part of.”

Sacha Jafri, the Artist:

“The placement of my moon-landed heart artwork, entitled: ‘We Rise Together – with the Light of the Moon’, aims to reconnect Humanity to: ourselves, each other, our creator, and ultimately to ‘The Soul of the Earth’. With figures, entwined in love, reaching for a new found understanding of unity and consequential hope, as they embark on their journey of exploration from our inhabited planet to our uninhabited Moon; through space and time, over mountain and star, to unlearn what we thought we knew and relearn everything through the Hearts, Minds, and Souls of our Children; the purest essence from which we have drifted so far, aiming to shine a light back on our broken planet, and start to heal it’s fractured heart. We rise together, with a like-minded goal of creating a new vision for our world, focusing on the five pillars that will allow humanity to thrive once again: Universality, Consciousness, Connection, Empathy, and Equality.”

Sacha Jafri’s Instagram page: @sachajafri

PavloTanasyuk, Founder, Spacebit:

“In cooperation with Astrobotic and Sacha Jafri, sending the first ever official artwork to the Moon. It will be preserved on the lunar surface, out of reach, forever. I believe in the future where symbiosis of art and engineering will form a new wave of space exploration that will become a powerful tool to inspire, educate and give back to humanity”.

Spacebit’s website: https://spacebit.com

James Khazaei, Co-Founder, Selenian:

“Just as Armstrong left the first footprint on the surface of the moon, Selenian is now set to leave the legacy of the moon’s first official artwork by Sacha Jafri on the lunar surface. Our ultimate goal is to be the gateway portal to Space and the Moon for physical and digital art assets in turn giving back to the humanity community with purpose and utility here on Earth.”

Selenian’s website: https://selenian.com