C.F. Martin & Co. announced that they have handcrafted a one-of-a-kind soprano ukulele specifically to join the Inspiration4 crew for their upcoming Space X mission.
The space-bound ukulele is adorned with the Inspiration4 mission patch on the fingerboard, which was inlayed by master craftsman Brent Williams. Astronaut Chris Sembroski will play the ukulele in space, and, upon its return, the instrument will be signed by the entire crew and then auctioned off to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
No strangers to adventure, Martin guitars and ukuleles have been just about everywhere on earth and beyond. In 1926, a Martin ukulele called the Konter Uke famously tagged along on Admiral Richard Byrd’s exhibition to the North Pole. And in 1994, the first guitar to ever go to space was a specially designed Martin Backpacker that hitched a ride with astronaut Pierre Thout on the Space Shuttle Columbia.
Not only does the ukulele look great and travel well, but it is also made from sinker mahogany, an environmentally friendly and magnificent sounding tone wood harvested from fallen logs that were submerged in the rivers of Belize over 200 years ago.
