Melania Trump Breaks NASA Rules with Man on the Moon NFT
TL;DR Melania Trump's 1776 NFT collection has caused some controversy due to her decision to commercialize Neil Armstrong’s iconic photo of Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface. NASA has expressed that they do not condone any use of its imagery for non-fungible tokens, and have prohibited any commercial use of the photo. Despite the criticism, her limited edition Apollo 11 trinket still sells for $75 and can be purchased with crypto or a credit card.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration prohibits commercial use.
Former First Lady Melania Trump launched her patriotic 1776 NFT commemorative collection on July 4th last month, but the hype faded a few days later. However, one particular NFT has unexpectedly garnered the attention of NASA.
Melania dropped a limited “Man on the Moon” NFT portraying the 54th anniversary of the landmark Apollo 11 mission, which still sells for $75 and can be purchased with crypto via Solana or a credit card. However, her decision to commercialize Neil Armstrong’s iconic photo of Buzz Aldrin on the lunar surface did not sit well with the iconic spacefaring institution and its fans.
NASA previously stated that they don’t condone any use of NASA’s imagery for non-fungible token purposes, let alone commercial use. The photo in question can only be used for informational or educational purposes.
Here’s what NASA’s Regulations for Merchandising Requests documentation states: “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.” Similar statements can also be found in NASA’s Media Usage Guidelines.
Naturally, the Slovenian-American businesswoman’s bold move didn’t impress the Twitter crowd – lawyers, attorneys, and political activists greeted Mrs. Trump with a tsunami of sarcasm. Some labeled the NFT useless, “You can salute them without selling these trinkets.” Another stated, “There’s nothing that’s not for sale with that family.”
On the Flipside
The on-chain stats for Melania Trump’s “1776” are concealed – this data is untracked by all NFT price data aggregators.
Celebrity-backed NFT collections are crucial for adoption – controversial cases like this can help build a more transparent legal framework for future blockchain projects.
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