According to ArtNews.net, former first lady Melania Trump has recently released a collection of NFTs themed around the Apollo 11 moon landing, featuring a popular photograph of astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking on the moon’s surface. The NFTs are textured like the moon’s surface and include a misquoted exclamation from Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” These limited edition collectibles are being sold for $75 each, with a special embedded audio that unlocks after purchase.
However, the release of these NFTs may potentially violate NASA’s policies. While NASA’s images are generally not copyrighted and are made available to the public for educational or informational purposes, the agency has strict regulations regarding the merchandising and usage of its branding and imagery. In a document outlining these regulations, NASA explicitly states that it does not approve merchandising applications involving NFTs and does not wish for its images to be used in connection with NFTs.
Despite this, Melania Trump’s Man on the Moon NFTs are being offered for sale on a website called USA Memorabilia. The site does not explicitly list Trump’s name or ownership, but a Whois search reveals that identifying information about the domain’s ownership has been redacted for privacy. However, during an interview with Fox News, Melania Trump has claimed ownership of the NFTs.
This is not the first time Melania Trump has entered the NFT market. In December 2021, she launched her own digital platform with the sale of a NFT collection of watercolor portraits by French artist Marc-Antoine Coulon. The initial sale reportedly did not garner significant attention, with rumors suggesting that Trump herself purchased one of her own NFTs to boost interest.
The potential consequences for violating NASA’s guidelines remain unclear, but it raises questions about the intersection of NFTs, intellectual property, and the use of government agency imagery for commercial purposes. As the NFT market continues to grow and evolve, such cases may prompt further discussions and considerations regarding the appropriate usage and licensing of copyrighted material in the digital space.
