Post-Apocalyptic Story and Film "The 9th Raider" Lands on the Moon in the Lunaprise Museum Onboard SpaceX Falcon 9

After launching atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 from Kennedy Space Center on February 15, 2024, the lunar lander Odysseus and the attached Lunaprise Museum landed on the moon, marking the first time the U.S. has returned to the moon since 1972.  Landing on the lunar surface in the Lunaprise Museum was "The 9th Raider"—the first feature film in world history to make its home on the moon, archived in a set of 16 inscribed Nanofiche nickel disks bolted to the lunar lander and descended to the lunar south pole on February 22, 2024. The Lunaprise Museum project was curated by Space Blue, in collaboration with Galactic Legacy Labs.

The director of the film, Dallas Santana, believes one day it is possible should humans go extinct for an advanced civilization to find the Lunaprise Museum and learn how we lived and view an almost prophetic film regarding the possibilities of human extinction explored in the film. Santana stated, "With daily conversations by powerful leaders about nuclear war and environmental induced extinction looming, while I don't believe this fiction film is all that farfetched, my present aim for the movie is for it to be seen by earthlings, not aliens—and help get the global conversation going to avoid a catastrophe for humanity."

Weeks after the post-nuclear apocalyptic film landed on the moon, The Academy Awards awarded "Oppenheimer"—the story of the origins of the nuclear bomb told—seven Oscars, including best picture of 2024. Indeed, the threat of nuclear apocalypse is in the back of the minds of those who want humans to take a curve right now before crashing into the hard effects of 30,000+ years of global war karma. And it is certainly in the minds of those planning to archive our human culture off Earth in time capsules like the Lunaprise before being lost forever.

"The 9th Raider" follows a handful of survivors set in the year 2037. To protect his daughter from impending doom, a father named "Camaro" buries her in a survival pod in the desert and searches for her years after a major nuclear holocaust. In the story, the 9th Raider, a prophesied event, is set to arrive, forcing survivors to choose a new path or face absolute extinction. They cling to the hope that the Knowledge Ark, an archive left on the Mars colony from a recent space program, will enable humanity to reboot. A left-behind artificial intelligence machine buried in a bunker chooses a sole survivor named "Frenchie" (played by French actor Cedric Lebert, a.k.a. CL7) to lead the last humans to a final mission to the Ark colony on Mars. Although the story is fiction, the actual archives of human knowledge unfolding in U.S.-launched space missions for both the moon and Mars archives are not fiction and the Lunaprise is exactly what the movie foretells—a future ark of knowledge stored off Earth for future potential human survival.

The Lunaprise Museum etched its name in space history when NASA launched the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative, achieving a lunar landing for the first time since 1972, over 50 years ago. Space Blue, a Beverly Hills-based space-art-tech company, located at the nexus of space and art enthusiasts, curated the mission's art projects and music and selected "The 9th Raider" and its survival story of mankind's plight as an interesting archive project. The CLPS initiative is a pivotal component of NASA’s Artemis lunar exploration program. The science and technology payloads delivered to the moon’s surface through CLPS are intended to pave the way for human missions and a sustainable human presence on the lunar surface and eventually on Mars.

The film was directed by Dallas Santana, a distinguished producer with producing and directing credits from major networks and streaming services like Fox, Fox Sports, CBS, ABC, Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime. This film marks a significant foray into Web3 innovation as the digital frames from the movie are etched on the moon can be matched by Web3 blockchain technologies on Earth and inscribed into a new popular art form known as bitcoin ordinals. In fact, "The 9th Raider" was the first movie in history to adopt this new art media form of the bitcoin ordinal. Santana, a filmmaker based in Los Angeles, has consistently been at the forefront of innovative ventures in the Web3 space. Embracing this direction, he has assembled a cast of youthful stars. Among them are former Disney teen star Daniel Curtis Lee, renowned for his roles in "Zeke and Luther" and "Ned's Declassified"; Richard Ryan, the action star of "The Art of Deception"; James Hebert, known from Quentin Tarantino's "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood"; and French actor Cedric Lebert, a motorcycle enthusiast, top collector of physical antiques and art, as well as becoming the leading collector of space/art and other digital collectibles on Nifty Gateway and OpenSea, recognized around the world as "CL7”.

Mirroring the collectible aspect of the original Apollo mission, where collectible lunar eagle inscribed historic gold coins, Omega moon watches, and even stamps sent to the moon became prized collectibles worth tens of millions of dollars, this project introduces digital virtual artwork with twin copies on the moon and rare twin copies archived for fans to collect from Earth. Offering movie lovers and fans exclusive access to collect such a historic first, these "Lunar Access Keys" to the future include sold-out collectible Lunar edition coins adorned with artwork from the movie.

Each collectible digital piece is made from film shots taken out of the movie based on 24 frames from the movie or one second total of the film's imagery. The overall collection is naturally called "One Second."

Santana emphasized, "The project received robust support from the traditional art, Web3 community, digital collectors, and film communities throughout the production of this post-apocalyptic movie. Initiatives supported by companies like crypto protocol ARK.io, collectible platforms Nifty Gateway, BitBasel, and bitcoin ordinal projects launched on the Bitcoin network, as well as key collectors like CL7  brought many interested in Web3 towards the awareness about the film, and all were instrumental in sustaining it."

Highlighting the uniqueness of this endeavor, Santana added, "This marks the first and only digital collectibles film in history that are both archived on the moon, also inscribed on the Bitcoin network, making the film's art virtually indestructible for the next billion years."

The film, set in a post-apocalyptic era, chose its filming locations with a keen eye for dramatic wasteland-looking landscapes: the Mojave Desert in locations where NASA found Mars-like natural landscapes for testing future missions, the very wasteland of Salton Sea, Glamis Sand Dunes where the original Star Wars spacecraft crashed, and the Goat Trestle Bridge—the tallest wooden bridge in the world, each adding a distinct texture to the film's visual narrative.

Highlighting the uniqueness of this groundbreaking endeavor, Santana added, "This marks the first and only digital collectibles film in history that was exhibited as a hologram during Miami Art Week/Art Basel 2021, we were truly out front and alone pushing a completely new form of media."

As the Covid-19 lockdown threw Hollywood into disarray, a cadre of crypto pioneers including Santana and CL7, steeped in five years of digital evolution, saw an unmissable opportunity. Energized by the soaring value of Ethereum and driven by a zeal for digital collectible innovation, this audacious film crew ventured well beyond the upheaval of conventional cinema. Opting for the vast, uncharted deserts, they sought out locales off the beaten path, discovering backdrops that offered more than just stark beauty for their post-apocalyptic narrative. 

CL7 a well-known art and Web3 digital art collector played a pivotal role in the movie playing a lone survivor who was selected by AI for the last mission to bring the last human survivors to the Ark archive located on Mars. His role in the film stands out. Real true grit. Santana calls him, "A real, authentic, and natural star born in the mold of motorcycle lovers and adrenaline seekers like Mel Gibson in the original 'Mad Max' movie."

CL7's Notable Involvement in the NFT Space

Privately leading NFT world marketplaces at Christie's, Sotheby's, and Bonhams auction houses (physical and digital art/NFT artworks), CL7 has been bridging the physical world to the digital one. A private and secretive art dealer in the physical world, CL7 has spent the past few years developing his visions into digital artwork by investing in the strong communities of NFTs (priority to utilities, certifications and holograms into the blockchain with the metaverse worlds). He is utilizing the stewardship of his collection of 5,000 NFTs on Nifty Gateway (Pak, Beeple, Trevor Jones, and many more top valuable ones), by becoming a large investor.

CL7 holds the sort of influence in the Web 3.0 community that an A-lister holds in making a movie successful at the box office. Casting him into a futuristic Web 3 film,  was a stroke of genius or pure good fortune. His passion for space and art naturally fits well with the themes of the film.

Digital collectibles for the 9th Raider Collection include artwork done by Hollywood artist Rob Prior live in New York City's Times Square in the middle of a prominent Web3 event held (NFT NYC 2021), using photos from the movie of CL7 and two other actors, including a hand-painted movie art piece titled "Lunar Artifact 777." The collection also contains "Lunar Art Coins"  as well include three physically bound original printed signed screenplays of the feature film which have been inscribed on the Bitcoin network as one of the earliest bitcoin ordinal projects and the first feature film screenplay and project inscribed onto the Bitcoin network.

During the filming of the movie, an initial marketing campaign exclusively announcing the project reached over 200 million people and generated 12 million engagements where future fans liked, commented, and asked when the movie would be released.

40 shooting days completed and wrapped as of Fall 2023.

Release Strategy

Starting in 2024, digital art collectors will have the opportunity to purchase collections, view movies, attend VIP experiences, and prioritize trading super rare digital collectibles collections. The entire feature film will screen at limited theatrical releases starting in New York and the West Coast and then make its way to leading streaming platforms giving priority to those platforms using blockchain technology.

Placing the film on the moon serves a dual purpose. As part of a time capsule and museum initiative initiated by Space Blue with Lunaprise, over 77,000 artifacts, including our film, are intended to be preserved for future Moon colonies. This initiative also aims to establish a museum on the moon to celebrate the first cultural content sent there, with the film "The 9th Raider"—a story of human survival—to be the first feature-length film to land on the moon.

For the movie trailer and website, click here.

For the digital collectibles' information site, click here and here.

For the studios, click here.

About Space Blue

Space Blue is building a global influential community for lovers of art and space with exhibits they do all over the world. Its vision is to be at the vanguard of merging space exploration with artistic expression, dedicated to inspiring humanity's celestial journey while championing impactful earthbound projects through art, film, and music. Discover their universe of projects and join the adventure at www.spaceblue.club.

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