--- title: "Startup Will Store Precious Artifacts in Vault Aboard the International Space Station" description: "The International Space Station's about to get that much cooler now that NASA has approved a venture that will bring an art gallery/museum aboard. " date: "2022-01-07" modified: "2022-01-07" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/iss-precious-artifacts" categories: - "International Space Station" - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "consumer space flight" - "international space station" - "nfts" - "Spaceflight" --- # Startup Will Store Precious Artifacts in Vault Aboard the International Space Station ![The International Space Station's about to get that much cooler now that NASA has approved a venture that will bring an art gallery/museum aboard. ]() *\Image: Uplift Aerospace\* The International Space Station is about to get an onboard art gallery and museum — sort of. As part of a [freshly-inked agreement with NASA](), a startup called Uplift Aerospace is planning to send all kinds of precious items — from pieces of visual art to precious gems and artifacts that would normally live in museums — to the ISS starting this year. The venture is a bid to "establish commerce in space," as the company put it in a [press release](). Many of the items featured in a roughly locker-sized vault, which will range from rare coins and fancy jewelry to "soft goods" meant for space travelers on board the station, will be put on sale. Others will be destined for museums after they get back to Earth. You're not wrong if you think this sounds both lofty and complicated. In [an interview with space artifacts publication *collectSPACE*](), Uplift Aerospace CEO and president Josh Hanes admitted that the company hasn't quite worked out the logistics of getting these goods to the ISS in the second half of this year. "The idea is that we'll be able to showcase the items while they are on the space station," Hanes told the website, "but we're still developing the exact process of how that will be done." Because nothing can happen these days without some connection to the blockchain, there will be a non-fungible token (NFT) aspect to the vault — though in this case, the NFTs will act as membership cards for Uplift's "Space+" community where they can access "real-life space experiences," as *collectSPACE* put it. "Currently, NFTs do not have a lot of utility in the physical world," Hanes told the publication. "We're trying to build that into them." Those who buy Uplift's NFTs at a purportedly low price point will, according to the CEO, ultimately be able to enter giveaways for space flights or items destined for the vault. In the nearer term, they'll get to attend Space+ talks and get small items from the ISS such as mission patches. Though the NFT bit does come off as a bit wonky, it nevertheless is a lot more tangible — and, frankly, cooler — than buying expensive [computer-generated JPGs of apes](). "The reason why we, as a company, have decided to create an NFT platform is because we truly believe that there is utility in NFTs and cryptocurrency in space applications for the long term," Hanes told *collectSPACE*. "Our purpose in the long term is to facilitate commerce. We think it is a good infrastructural system for commerce between space and Earth." And, unlike pedestrian digital goods like [virtual Metaverse land plots]() or [NFTs for ]()[jars of farts](), at least this one involves a vault on the freakin' International Space Station. **READ MORE:** [NFT-backed vault on space station to showcase prized goods for sale]() \[*collectSPACE*\] **More weird space stuff:** [*We Need to Talk About Gay Sex in Space*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()