Jeff Koons is in a race to be the first man to display his art on the moon, an exhibit that could net him a fortune.

Mr. Koons, the world’s most-expensive living artist, is known for creating mirrored steel sculptures evoking balloon animals that have sold for as much as $91 million. Now, the artist has made an artwork he thinks can survive a 238,900-mile trip to the moon aboard a lunar lander slated to take off this year.

To succeed, he will need to rocket ahead of rivals including Sacha Jafri, a London-based painter who gained fame last month for creating the world’s largest painting and is now seeking to install his own art on the moon.