Talk about an NFT project that’s literally out of this world!
As Axiom Space prepares to launch its latest mission Axiom Mission 3 (AX-3) to the International Space Station, they’ve also launched an accompanying NFT collection.
Last night at 6 p.m. ET the auction of the “Space Grails” NFT collection, featuring artwork inspired by the mission, went live on the NFT marketplace Nifty Gateway. The collection fuses art and space exploration with physical and digital works from eight renowned Web3 artists.
The Space Grails collection, created in collaboration with the Web3 creator platform Transient Labs, consists of nine unique digital artworks minted on Ethereum. Notably, the NFTs are linked to physical artworks that will accompany the astronauts aboard Axiom Mission 3. Those pieces will be given to the buyer of the NFT when they return to Earth.
Featured artists include the photographer Dave Krugman, the CEO of Art Blocks Erick “Snowfro” Calderon in collaboration with Jordan Lyall (the founder of Prohibition), artist and poet Amber Vittoria, the digital abstract painter Jack Kaido, MUMBOT, Dr. Sian Proctor, and Richard Zheng.
The Head of Web3 for Axiom Space, Mina Salib, said the collection celebrates the “limitless potential of human creativity.” She added that she was “thankful that artists with such massive appeal are so space conscious.”
The mission to the International Space Station will be launched sometime today and will contain four international astronauts aboard the Dragon spacecraft. It takes off from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NFTs in Outer Space Aren’t as Rare as One Might Think
For NFT collectors looking for novelty, purchasing an NFT linked to a physical artwork that has actually traveled to outer space seems like a great fit. But interestingly, this isn’t the first time we’ve seen NFTs and space collide in Web3. Here are the top three stories involving NFTs in outer space.
First, in April 2022, Axiom Space made news when it celebrated its successful Ax-1 Mission by minting NFTs from the International Space Station. The ‘Axiom Space Patch”NFTs marked the first time an NFT collection dropped while the creators were not on the earth’s surface.
Next, on April 23rd 2022, Azuki sent Bobu the Bean Farmer, its most famous NFT character, on a ride to the International Space Station with the SpaceX astronaut team. The project launched in collaboration with the research organization STELLAR, which used the NFT to explore the electrical characteristics of a Mircrobial Fuel Cell in a microgravity environment.
Finally, in January 2022, Lamborghini released the “Space Keys” NFTs. The collection, created in collaboration with NFT Pro, consisted of physical keys that were made from samples of carbon fiber that were sent to the International Space Station in 2019.
There are only four days left before the Space Grails NFT auction ends, and at the time of writing, the highest bid is $4,900 on Dave Krugman’s NFT ‘Eclipse.’ But whether the project brings in big money or not, we can say without hesitation that it’s original. And owning an NFT artwork that’s made a trip to outer space might be exactly what some collectors are looking for.