"What an absolute waste."

Not Today, Axiom

Axiom Space has announced it's getting into non-fungible tokens (NFTs), but the spaceflight startup's rollout has garnered some critical — and hilarious — responses.

With a successful trip to the International Space Station under its belt, Axiom Space is now looking to cash in with NFTs that were "minted from space," according to the company's website.

But, to paraphrase the inimitable Shania Twain, that don't impress Twitter much.

"If you wanna sell NFTs go ahead," one user wrote in response to the company's NFT announcement. "But it you don't want your clients to be called tourists, then stuff like this isn't helping."

That rejoinder was referring to the fact that Axiom Space has repeatedly attempted to paint the crew of space tourists it sent to the ISS earlier this month as "astronauts" conducting important scientific work, rather than wealthy businesspeople literally paying their way into orbit.

"What an absolute waste," decried another user, who added that it was nevertheless "a brilliant way to ruin my interest in Axiom Space."

Jeff Foust, a senior writer for SpaceNews, had an even funnier take, musing about what else "NFT" could stand for, given the context.

"Newly Functional Technology? Normal Flexibility Testing? Novel Fluid Transfer?" Foust tweeted. "With all the emphasis Ax-1 has on research, I assume 'NFT' has to be something like that, right?"

The Final Frontier

This is unfortunately not the first collision of space and NFTs. In 2021, the US Space Force announced that it was making virtual reality-enabled NFTs for some reason.

Just last week, celebrity astronaut Scott Kelly released an International Space Station-themed NFT collection — but to be fair, he's raising money for Ukraine.

Nevertheless, many argue that it's a bad look, even for a company whose whole mission is monetizing space travel.

Here are some of the more hilarious dunks and irritated gripes.

Space Crypto

Be careful what you joke about...

Burning Money

Given that the guy who bought former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's first tweet as an NFT tried to sell it for $48 million and only got a top bid of a tiny fraction of that, this meme seems apt.

Eff It

Well said.

Some Good Space Art

Artist Jade Boudreaux showcased her incredible work on Twitter, noting that she's interested in selling her art as NFTs.

If only art like Boudreaux's was what's prominent in the NFT world — instead of, you know, gimmicky Apes and random animations minted onboard the ISS.

More on space tourism: SpaceX Space Tourists Are Bringing a Brain-Reading Helmet to Space This Month

More on NFTs: Porn Star "Punishes" Man for Buying NFTs


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