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ISS Enjoys Private Orbit Concert Of Debussy’s ‘Clair De Lune’ In An NFT First
By Ell Ko, 06 Aug 2021
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Image via NASA
A special rendition of Claude Debussy’s classic Clair de Lune (“Moonlight”) was beamed up into space—into Earth’s orbit—on the International Space Station (ISS).
125,000 miles later, it was flown back to Earth, and minted onto the blockchain, preserved forever.
This was made possible by Artemis Music Entertainment in partnership with Nanoracks, a private space service provider. The latter has its own Bishop airlock attached to the ISS, which is where the track seated itself comfortably on its journey on July 28. The rendition was commissioned by Artemis Music and performed by internationally acclaimed Hong Kong pianist Wing-Chong Kam.
Clair de Lune was beamed from Nanoracks’ Houston headquarters to the Bishop airlock, where the digital file made a 90-minute journey across the Earth, completing a full orbit during that time. It was joined by another file, a piece of digital art, which has yet to be revealed to the world.
After the experience, the music then returned back to Earth to be minted into a non-fungible token (NFT). This unique, truly one-of-a-kind NFT will be up for purchase on Forest Road Notables, and its proceeds will go towards supporting the empowerment of young creatives through the Artemis Music Foundation.
Artemis Music Entertainment also owns the Artemis Space Network, which is a platform that aims to integrate commercial music and media with space exploration. Co-founder Bob Richards tells Space.com that this flight of Clair de Lune was in part to test the waters with this technology.
If all goes to plan, he says, many artists and musicians can use the network to beam their own works into orbit. In return, Artemis Music will get a cut of the revenue generated from this, which Richards compares to Spotify.
“The cosmic perspective of space inspires a cognitive shift in humans,” says Richard in a statement on the NFT. “Debussy’s Clair de Lune perhaps comes as close as possible to stirring the emotions of awe and wonder experienced by space travelers. “
“The universe is full of music, and we humans are learning how to use music to not only understand the science of the universe, but to grasp our place in it.”
[via Space.com, image via NASA]
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