Melania Trump's new "Man on the Moon" NFT, featuring Buzz Aldrin's iconic photo, clashes with the guidelines of the National Aeronautic and Space Administration (NASA).
The former First Lady's latest digital art venture has taken a cosmic twist. NASA is not over the moon about it.
Melania Trump 'Man on the Moon' Buzz Aldrin NFT
BETHESDA, MARYLAND - FEBRUARY 14: First Lady Melania Trump visits the Children’s Inn at National Institutes of Health on Valentine’s Day on on February 14, 2020 in Bethesda, Maryland.
As per Art News, the former First Lady, no stranger to making headlines, has recently delved into Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) with her 'Man on the Moon' collection. While owning a piece of lunar history might sound exciting, Melania's NFT journey has hit a snag.
Trump's latest NFT collection features Apollo 11 NFTs, notably the iconic image of astronaut Buzz Aldrin, dating back to 1969, walking on the moon's surface. No less than the Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong took the photograph that captured one of humanity's most significant achievements.
Art News notes that Trump's latest limited edition NFT drop fetches $75 per piece.
The United States put a man on the moon on this day in 1969. I salute America’s ingenuity and ongoing commitment towards excellence. #USAmemorabilia pic.twitter.com/Kr7hJUC63w
— MELANIA TRUMP (@MELANIATRUMP) July 20, 2023
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NASA Rules vs. Melania Trump's NFT
CAPE CANAVERAL, FLORIDA - MAY 20: Workers freshen up the paint on the NASA logo on the Vehicle Assembly Building before the arrival of NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley at the Kennedy Space Center on May 20, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida.
However, according to Gizmodo, Melania's fresh NFT drop clashes with the policies of the US space agency NASA. Although NASA images are free from copyright and available for informational and educational purposes, the rules are different for NFTs.
The agency's Regulations on Merchandising Requests and Media Usage Guidelines says, "NASA does not wish for its images to be used in connection with NFTs." Furthermore, the space agency notes that "NASA is not approving any merchandising applications involving Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), as they are not consistent with the categories of products the Agency is approved to merchandise."
On top of that, Decrypt pointed out that NASA requires companies and individuals to request approval from the agency before using their imagery, emblems, and identifiers for merchandise. As for Trump's Buzz Aldrin NFT needs to be clarified when she requested its usage with NASA. Given NASA's strict policies, Decrypt notes that the agency may have rejected it.
However, Art News stresses that the consequences for clashing with NASA's strict policies could be clearer. It is worth noting that a previous NFT collection features the NASA brand. In 2021, Anicorn Watches dropped a NASA-branded collection, which the agency's "worm" logo designer Richard Danne created.
In the listing of the "Man on the Moon" NFT, the name of Melania Trump is nowhere to be found. But in her recent interview with Fox News, she claimed that the fresh collection was hers. The former First Lady dived into the rodeo of NFTs last December 2021, a time wherein the digital asset was a massive craze.
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