One small step for an artist: British man's latest piece will be sent to the Moon in Nasa project 

A former schoolmate of the Duke of Cambridge will be the world’s first artist to officially send art to the Moon as part of a £70billion Nasa programme.

Ex-Eton pupil Sacha Jafri will have his latest piece set ‘eternally’ on the lunar surface as part of an Artemis I mission later this year.

The ‘indestructible’ work features a heart-shaped design engraved on aerospace-grade aluminium covered with gold.

The 45-year-old’s work, titled We Rise Together – with the Light of the Moon, has been kept secret for the past year.

He told the Daily Telegraph: ‘The Moon is one of the most extreme environments imaginable… It’s on a gold-covered aluminium plate which is pretty much indestructible. I had to use a laser to etch the design.

‘It is a heart motif and shows a couple in an embrace. It’s about that shared humanity.’

Mr Jafri’s artwork is part of the Artemis programme, coinciding with the 50th anniversary of the last mission to the Moon in 1972. 

The artwork by Ex-Eton pupil Sacha Jafri, 45, titled We Rise Together – with the Light of the Moon

Mr Jafri (pictured) says the artwork is about ‘shared humanity’ and shows a couple in an embrace

Mr Jafri, UAE-based British artist, pictured speaking during a press conference unveiling the artwork earlier this week

It will be sent as part of Nasa’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services, which offers space transport to private sector customers.

The programme is to be completed in 2024 and has the backing of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Mr Jafri holds the world record for the largest painting ever made.

There is speculation that unofficial works have been previously left on the moon by visiting astronauts.

Sculptor Forrest Myers claimed he convinced an Apollo 12 crew member to leave a ceramic tile on the Moon featuring Andy Warhol drawings.

No such claims have been confirmed by NASA.