“I can’t stand the rain,” was one of the contents of a message sent to Venus via the space agency’s Deep Space Network.
NASA sent a hip-hop song into space for the first time, choosing for the event “The Rain” by American rapper Missy Elliott, which the artist debuted in 1997. This broadcast was only the second time NASA has broadcast a song via the Deep Space Network — the first was in 2008, when the Beatles’ “Across the Universe” was launched into deep space on February 4 to celebrate NASA and at the same time the founding of the NASA DSN organization (NASA was officially founded on October 1, 1958).
The DSN was created by NASA to manage communications systems for space missions, and the first radio stations were installed in Nigeria, Singapore and California in the 1950s as a precursor to the DSN. The system has since expanded significantly, and its stations in California, Spain and Australia play a significant role in space programs. Of course, the network is not usually used to broadcast songs, but on July 12, NASA employees made an exception and launched Elliott’s trajectory to Venus at 10:05 local time. Venus was chosen because it is the rapper’s favorite planet, which symbolizes power, beauty and sophistication, according to the artist, and the planet will also feature prominently in the agency’s future programs, with several missions scheduled to launch there, including the DAVINCI and VERITAS missions.
NASA In his statement They didn't explain why they chose to broadcast the song, but said the lyrics could serve as an inspirational message. The song was transmitted using 13 antennas on the 34-meter-wide deep space station, and traveled 254 million kilometers, so the signal took about 14 minutes to reach the planet.
(Image: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin)
