Wow, Melania Trump’s NFT Apollo 11 Called Violating NASA Guidelines

Liputan6.com, Jakarta Melania Trump released her newest collection of non-fungible tokens (NFTs). This time releasing the NFT collection related to the famous photo of NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin walking on the surface of the moon. Unfortunately, NASA does not approve the use of its image for digital tokens.

The former first lady released the Apollo 11 NFT collection on Wednesday, July 19, just one day before the 54th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.

The cost for the limited collection entitled “Man on the Moon” is USD 75. NFT Man on The Moon also includes an audio file that can be opened by collectors upon purchase.

Launch Cryptosaurus, Thursday (20/7/2023), NFT Man on the Moon uses one of the most iconic images from NASA’s Moon Mission, which landed two astronauts on the surface of the moon on July 20, 1969.

The image was taken by mission commander Neil Armstrong and shows Aldrin near the eagle’s feet of the lunar module on the surface of the Moon.

NASA images are generally not copyrighted and are available for use to serve educational or informational purposes. However, space agencies draw boundaries when it comes to NFTs.

NASA does not approve any trading applications involving non-fungible tokens (NFTs) because they do not fit into the product categories the agency has approved for trading.

On the other hand, the trade rules also echo another condemnation of NASA’s use of images for NFTs, referring to the space agency’s media use guidelines where NASA clearly states, NASA does not want its images used for this purpose.

The space agency has made clear that it absolutely does not want its material to be used for digital token creation purposes.

However, it’s not clear if NASA can do anything about it since the image is public domain. The guidelines seem to stress that the space agency prefers its images not to be used for that purpose, but they don’t have to be protected under copyright law, which makes it fair game.