Fine Art, from NYC to the Moon

“I dreamed of going to the Moon and one day it was possible,” said Samuel Peralta. “I’m sharing that dream with many of the artists, authors, musicians, and filmmakers whose work I love.”

Peralta is the man behind The Lunar Codex, which is a collection of works from thousands of artists across the globe, launched in three time capsules to the Moon, or in his words, a “dream realized.”

The first launch is set to take place in September 2022, with subsequent launches happening in late 2022 and then 2023, but as Peralta explains in the Lunar Codex FAQs, “Schedule changes in the space industry are not uncommon – space is hard.”

The Lunar Codex is a project of Incandence, which is Peralta’s company, covering interests in arts, technology, and business. Inspired by his involvement in the Writers on the Moon project, Peralta chose to bring about a similar opportunity for artists.

The Lunar Codex “started as a project to spread hope during a dark time – the years of the Covid-19 pandemic on Earth,” he explained. “The Codex instills the Moon with some of the heart of humanity, our art, so that when we look to the sky, the Moon is a tangible symbol of hope, of what is possible when you believe. The Codex is also a message-in-a-bottle to the future, so that travelers who find these time capsules might discover some of the richness of our world today. It speaks to the idea that, despite wars and pandemics and climate upheaval, humankind found time to dream, time to create art.”

The FAQs explains that the Lunar Codex’s contribution is its conscious focus on contemporary, rather than historic, art and books; and its extension of lunar archives to music and film. It is the first project to put the works of women artists, figurative realist art, music, and film on the Moon. The project has representation from 20,000 creative artists in 91 countries and territories around the globe.

But what about “space junk?”

“This isn’t about old satellites that don’t work anymore,” Peralta said. “This is a time capsule project, meant for future generations to discover a bit about our time on Earth. It has historical and cultural value, like an unearthed time capsule from 1945.”

“The lunar landers themselves are owned by two NASA prime contractors – Astrobotic and Intuitive Machines – via NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. SpaceX and the ULA (plus Blue Origin) provide launch services as subcontractors. NASA utilizes lander payload space for scientific instruments or rovers headed for the Moon; this is the primary mission of the launches. You can think of ULA and SpaceX as our Lyft or Uber. We are ridesharing with NASA and NASA’s CLPS partners, who are co-passengers.”

The missions will be streamed for the public to view; visit lunarcodex.com to learn more about this project.

> Visit EricRhoads.com to learn about more opportunities for artists and art collectors, including retreats, international art trips, art conventions, and more.

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