Shoot for the moon: A Sask. Indigenous artist’s music is headed to space

Nigel Bell is among Indigenous artists who will have their art sent to the moon. (Laura Woodward/CTV News).

A Saskatchewan producer’s music is headed to the moon as part of a time capsule project.

The Lunar Codex aims to put digitized collections of art on the moon.

“It’s a message to the future, it’s a time capsule,” the Lunar Codex Founder Samuel Peralta said.

The Lunar Codex’s sixth mission aims to put music, created by Indigenous artists, on the moon.

The collection will include a song by Nigel Bell, a member of the Lac La Ronge Indian Band.

“I’m so amazed. It’s just crazy to think about,” Bell, who creates music as Nige B, told CTV News.

Bell applied online to have his music be part of the Lunar Codex’s collection.

“We don’t know what’s going to happen to our people, you know, how many years down the road. But we’re always going to have art up there,” Bell said.

“That’s really comforting to think about. Whatever happens, a piece of our culture is always going to be out there.”

This is the Lunar Codex’s second mission focused on Indigenous artists. On Jan. 15, an Indigenous visual art collection was launched to the moon. It’s expected to land on March 1.

Peralta, who is also an art curator and collector, believes Indigenous art is underappreciated.

“We need to highlight more Indigenous art,” Peralta said.

“This is a billion-year archive. It will last forever, essentially. If we can preserve these items of culture for the future — far away from wars, the ravages of climate change, and so on, then we will be all the better for it."

How the art gets to the moon

The Lunar Codex sends its collections on NASA CLPS (Commercial Lunar Payload Services) — a program that partners with private companies.

Peralta said it costs about $1 million per kilogram to send something to the moon.

To save room, the Lunar Codex digitizes and miniaturizes its art collections.

The art then gets put on hard drives and NanoFiche — a nickel disk, about the size of a coin, that can store large amounts of data.

The music gets transformed into wave forms and laser-etched onto the NanoFiche.

Peralta said the cost to put the time capsules on the lunar spacecraft depends on the launch.

The Lunar Codex aims to inspire not only future generations, but also today’s artists, encouraging them to shoot for the moon.

“We tell them that their work is worth something. It’s worth preserving. In fact, it’s so worth preserving that we’re going to shoot it to the moon,” Peralta said.

Peralta’s vision aligns with Bell’s message to young artists.

“No matter where you come from, follow your dreams and passions. You never know where it can take you — it could take you to the moon!” Bell said, laughing.

The Lunar Codex’s capsule of Indigenous music is expected to launch to a south pole region of the moon in November.