Celebrated American artist Jeff Koons made history by sending 125 miniature sculptures to the moon onboard a SpaceX rocket that departed from the Kennedy Space Center in Florida last Thursday. The sculptures, along with other scientific equipment, were carried on a lunar lander, which successfully made a touchdown on the surface of the moon yesterday. Known as Nova C (Odysseus), the lander was designed and is being operated by Houston-based Intuitive Machines. Interestingly, the lunar landing is the first by an American-built spacecraft since NASA’s final Apollo mission in 1972. “Houston, Odysseus has found its new home,” said Stephen Altemus, president and CEO of Intuitive Machines.
“I grew up listening to President Kennedy speak about going to the moon,” Koons said in an interview before takeoff. “It gave our society a vision and drive that we could believe in ourselves and accomplish things.” Koon’s initiative, known as “The Moon Phases Project,” has met with its fair share of hiccups before finally taking off. First announced in 2022, the original plan included a collection of NFTs themed around the physical sculptures that were to land on the moon in July of that year. The artist said the project was inspired by his son Sean Koons, who proposed sending artwork to Earth’s natural satellite. However, the project suffered several delays, including a setback last week. Scientists were forced to delay the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket after they noticed an issue with the methane propellant.
The artworks sent to the moon include 125 one-inch stainless steel balls, each representing a phase of the moon as seen from Earth. Each of the 125 models is also named after a historically influential world figure, like Plato, David Bowie, Artemisia Gentileschi, Leonardo da Vinci, Ada Lovelace, Hellen Keller, and even Gandhi. The miniature sculptures are housed in a transparent box, which was designed by 4space and built from sustainable materials. “Those Moons will be the very first authorised artworks placed on the Moon,” according to a project statement.
