The news was announced by a spokeswoman of the European Space Agency (ESA) participating in the project along with Russia's Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Energiya corporation.
The Soyuz-6TMA is slated to blast off towards the International Space Station (ISS) from the Baikonur launching facility on April 15. In addition to the cargo under the program, the crewmembers take along a picture by artist Georgy Puzenkov whose works are displayed in top museums throughout the world. Based on the famous picture by Leonardo da Vinci, Puzenkov recreated Mona Lisa in the form of computer pixels applied to canvas by means of up-to-date technology.
Puzenkov termed his unprecedented space action with a historical date: Leonardo da Vinci's painting - a symbol and a legend of the world's art - turns 500 this year. According to Puzenkov, Mona Lisa's smile in a computer frame is a token of the creative unity of art, science and high technology.
In addition to the painting to be brought on board by the Italian crewmember, Roberto Vittori, one more piece of art is to go to outer space. Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalyov will bring to the Soyuz-6TMA a transparent crystal with a titanium-silicon plate measuring 3 micron by 5 micron. The plate will be Single Mona Lisa 1:1's nano-copy from a Russian nano-technology developer.
The crystal is to be left on board the ISS, with the painting to be brought back to the Earth on April 25.
