After many delays, the 125 sculptures by Jeff Koons began their journey to the Moon yesterday morning from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center’s Cape Canaveral in Florida.

The initiative, known as “The Moon Phases Project”, was first announced in 2022 and focuses on a collection of NFTs. The original plan called for the physical works to be landed on the moon in July of that year, with NFTs made available through Pace Verso, Pace Gallery’s NFT platform.

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After many ups and downs, the ‘Moons’ sculptures by Koons; they were finally scheduled to launch on a Falcon 9 rocket in a lunar landing on February 14.

“The lander will carry Koons’ 125 miniature one-inch sculptures, each representing a phase of the Moon and each associated with people from various fields and time periods who have had a significant impact on human life on Earth, such as Mozart, Galileo, Cleopatra and Leonardo da Vinci, to name a few”according to a statement. “These moons will be the first authorized works of art to be placed on the Moon.”

However, the launch was delayed after scientists noticed a problem with the rocket’s methane propellant, according to a New York Times report.

The Falcon 9 rocket is manufactured by Elon Musk’s SpaceX in 2002. The natural sculptures were on the rocket in a lunar lander known as Nova C (Ulysses). The lander was developed by Intuitive Machines, a private American aerospace company, and is designed to separate from the Falcon 9 rocket after liftoff.

Read more at monopoli.gr