LGBTQ+ art lands on the Moon in one giant leap for queerkind

Pride is becoming more than just an Earthly celebration after a groundbreaking LGBTQ+ art project was sent to the Moon.

Two unmanned space missions to the Moon carried with them various messages, including an LGBTQ+ art piece designed to “promote advocacy” within the space sector and beyond.

In collaboration with a project by the Interstellar Foundation, artwork from Space Pride was included in missions completed by the aerospace companies ‘Firefly Aerospace’ and ‘Intuitive Machines – Blue Ghost Mission 1, containing the lifeship pyramid with Nanofiche disk with artwork etched on its surface, and Intuitive Machines 2, containing a digital copy of the artwork.”

Named Humanity’s Journey Into the Galaxy: We are All made of Stardust, the painting was created by Space pride operators Rania Djojosugito and Khushi Shah and was selected to become part of the ASPIRE One Record initiative in 2023.

The initiative, created by the Interstellar Foundation, is a mission to preserve Earth’s cultural and scientific heritage on the Moon by archiving vital data and records in a set of landing missions.

After launching on 15 January 2025, Blue Ghost Mission 1 was the first to soft-land on the Moon’s surface on 2 March, landing in the Mare Crisium Lunar mare. IM-2, meanwhile, landed in Mons Mouton just a few days later after launching in February 2025.

Shah, Space Pride’s vice president and artist on the project, commended the landing, saying that art is a vital way to convey a “unique combination of critical thinking, curiosity, and creativity.”

“As we reach for the stars and planets beyond Earth, it is important to showcase all forms of human culture and connection.”

Co-creator of the artwork and operations director for Space pride, Djojosugito, added that art is a “powerful tool” in invoking a sense of “community and humanity,” adding that it is a universal way to share messages without language.

“I hope this piece on the Moon will remind people that they are valid and heard. That the world is changing.”

The artwork, which features a Black Hole absorbing a rainbow into its event horizon, was created in contribution with Space Pride organisers to symbolise the “infinite potential of space” as well as the “unity and boundless opportunities of the LGBTQ+ community.”

It comes as LGBTQ+ representation within the space sector is under attack from harmful policies by the Trump administration.

US Aerospace agency NASA was ordered by officials to scrub LGBTQ+ and DEI content from its website, which included several resources and blogs on LGBTQ+ employees and officials.

One of the pages, formerly called “Diversity at NASA,” has been changed to remove all blogs featuring Black, female, and LGBTQ+ NASA employees. Its name has been changed to “special observations.”

Space Pride’s president, Scott Scoular, said that the achievements of the ASPIRE One Record initiatives overstate any attempts to silence LGBTQ+ voices, saying that having LGBTQ+ artwork on the moon is “not just inspiring for those of use working in the space sector,” but for everyone.

“It means now, any LGBTQ+ person, anywhere on Earth (or in space) can look at the Moon and know that, regardless of what is happening on Earth, we will never be erased.”