Melania Trump Breaks NASA Rules with Man on the Moon NFT

The newest edition to Melania Trump’s 1776 NFT collection receives immense backlash from NASA fans

Melania Trump taking a selfie in a space suit on the moon with a Trump flag in the background.
Created by Gabor Kovacs from DailyCoin
  • Melania’s latest limited edition NFT celebrates the Apollo 11 mission.
  • Part of the 1776 collection, the NFT trinket with NASA’s image sells for $75.
  • 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 Frowns Upon NFTs. Melania Isn’t Fussed

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.

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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.

Why This Matters

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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Author
Tadas Klimasevskis

Tadas Klimaševskis is a Lithuanian journalist at DailyCoin, specializing in covering the lighter side of the crypto industry such as memecoins and pop culture in the metaverse. He has experience as a music artist, English language teacher, and freelance writer, and uses his creative writing skills to summarize valuable information in his work. He is also a strong believer in the potential of blockchain and spends his free time listening to music, traveling, and watching basketball games.