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Aku, a black astronaut NFT character created by baseball player-turned artist Micah Johnson was sent to the International Space Station (ISS) on a server. The artwork orbited the earth and was returned to the planet after two hours of space travel.
Black Astronaut By Micah Johnson Becomes First NFT to be Beamed Into Space
On July 28, NFT character Aku, who represents a young black astronaut, hitched a ride to the ISS from Nanorocks mission control, which owns the first commercial airlock module on the space station.
The file containing Aku was retained on the ISS server for two hours, during which it orbited the earth. After completing its journey, the video source file was returned with telemetry and transmission data -- which is now included in the collectible’s smart contract on Ethereum.
Debuted in February 2021, Aku will be auctioned for charity on NFT marketplace Notables next Tuesday. The token’s space travel was accomplished in partnership with Nanorocks and Artemis Music Entertainment.
Micah Johnson’s NFT creation was also accompanied by a tokenized version of Claude Debussy’s “Claire de Lune”, which became the first music-based NFT to travel to space and return home.
Aku Set to Make Hollywood Debut
It was reported in April that Aku had been optioned for film and television projects by Anonymous Content and Permanent Content, a venture-backed by Canadian singer and songwriter Shawn Mendes and his manager Andrew Gertler. This is the first time a major production company has shown interest in a digital collectible.
Reports suggest that Johnson is enlisting his community’s help to expand on the artwork’s intellectual property before the movie’s inaugural. He recently sold a programmable token through a Christie’s auction that would enable the owner to name Aku’s companion in the film’s story.