Sacha Jafri’s Artwork Heads to the Moon

Global artist & humanitarian, Sacha Jafri‘s art work, “We Rise Together with the Light of the Moon,” is set to make history as the first official artwork launched from Earth to the moon. As part of NASA’s Peregrine Mission One in the Artemis programme, this marks NASA’s return to lunar exploration after a hiatus of over 50 years.

The unique art piece by Sacha Jafri lasered on to a Moon-Resilient plate, set within Jafri’s iconic heart-motif, depicts a reconnected humanity, with two central figures holding hands, entwined with love and empathy, as they rotate within a flourishing new world.

With the successful launch of the Peregrine Mission One, exciting times are ahead with Sacha Jafri’s painting becoming the first official artwork to be launched from earth to the moon.“…a giant leap for humanity as we prepare to return to the lunar surface for the first time in over half a century….” according to Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator.

Jafri now looks set to beat Jeff Koons to become the first artist to place the first official work of art on the lunar surface of our moon – in the first ever artwork moon race. The Mission sits alongside the development of Humanity’s first space station within the Artemis programme, supported by the recently signed partnership agreement with Mohammed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC) of the UAE.

The piece of art will be placed on the Moon with the help of Selenian, a pioneering company that specialises in the curation of art in space, and Astrobotic, a commercial space company, in association with NASA under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative known as NASA CLPS. The landing site will then become a world heritage landmark preserved forever. Jafri has used a moon-resilient aerospace grade aluminum gold plate as his canvas in order for the Artwork to be fully resilient to the lunar conditions. This process took just over two years of testing in order for Spacebit to be able to confirm that it would last eternally on the Moon.

Jafri explained, “The placement of my moon-landed artwork aims to be a symbol for a reconnected humanity. At night, as our Earth falls into darkness, our only natural light comes from the Moon, but now as it shines its light, it shines with the symbolic message of my moon-landed Artwork, and from the darkness comes the light. My hope is for humanity to reunite as we begin to vibrate at a higher frequency, embrace humility, understand the power of universal consciousness, and realize the fragility of our planet.”

“ We believe space is for everyone, and Sacha’s artwork is the perfect embodiment of that spirit. When the artwork touches down on the surface of the Moon, it will be a powerful reminder of how the arts inspire creative thinking and make our world a better place,” added Dan Hendrickson, Vice President of Business Development, Astrobotic.

James Khazaei, Co-Founder, Selenian comments, “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.”

‘We Rise Together with the Light of the Moon’ was launched to the moon aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan Rocket from Cape Canaveral at 02:18am EST on Monday, 8th January 2024. Jafri’s Artwork is due to land on the moon on Friday, 23d February 2024.