When people outside the blockchain space talk about NFTs it’s usually in a less favorable light. Often bringing up the excessive energy consumption that occurs on the Ethereum (or a similar) blockchain or the lack of practical application in regard to the technology. Sometimes people are just parroting their favorite late night talk show host or some other equally uninformed online source.
There are some incredible practical applications coming to the NFT space that we will be discussing (and showing) in the future. At the same time, NFTs created as a piece of art continue to demonstrate incredible value. In all artistic spaces there are people who produce art strictly for commercial reasons. And then there are those who create art because they are passionate about the message or the story that they are sharing through their art. Scott Kelly is one of those types of artists… and more.
Kelly is many things. He’s a former military fighter pilot and test pilot, an engineer, a retired astronaut, and a retired U.S. Navy captain. Kelly also commanded the International Space Station (ISS) on three expeditions. In October 2015, he set the record for the total accumulated number of days spent in space and the single longest space mission by an American astronaut. He is also an artist and a philanthropist.
He recently raised over $500k USD on an NFT auction, donating 100% of those proceeds to help the people of the Ukraine as they fight to survive the Russian invasion of their country. That auction happened on Open Sea. Kelly was very happy about the funds they raised but is passionate about the environment and decided he needed a greener blockchain option in the future. Thus he turned to Telos, the ESG blockchain. A chain that can do 10,000 TPS, is totally green, costing a fraction what it costs on Ethereum, with transactions that are nearly feeless.
With this next set of NFTs Kelly partnered with Western NFTs, Inc. to mint a series of one of a kind NFTs featuring 15 photographs that also include an audio description in his own voice, describing a bit of the story connected to each of the amazing pictures. All of the images are taken from his year aboard the International Space Station.
These beautiful pieces of art are totally unique, capturing a single moment viewed from 254 miles above the surface of our planet from a vehicle traveling at over 17,000 miles per hour. That moment — that perspective will never be seen again.
The NFT’s are being minted and auctioned on Telos, utilizing the Telos EVM. The NFTs can be viewed and bid on while the auction is live at scottkellyart.com, where the auction will run for at least 48 hours. If a bid is placed in the final 10 minutes of the auction, the auction will extend 10 minutes from the time the bid is placed.
This unique collection of NFTs is being launched on Telos because it aligns with Kelly’s passion for sustaining the environment. Once again Kelly is also donating 100% of the profits from this auction to the people of the Ukraine in their fight for freedom.
The auction goes live on May 12, 2022 at 17:00 UTC.
If you’d like to check out the art in advance go the scottkellyart.com
GoodBlock Technologies is a partner with Western NFTs, Inc.
Episode 1: Around the Block with GoodBlock
Watch our very first podcast video Around the Block with GoodBlock with special guest, Astronaut Scott Kelly, when we get to chat about his NFT project, why Telos and what makes it special.