NASA broadcast Missy Elliott's song in 1997, which is Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) NASA Song. It took off last Friday at 7pm Hungarian time on a 254 million kilometre journey through the Deep Space Network (DSN) system from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
Supa Dupa Fly reached the second closest planet to the sun in about 14 minutes. This isn't the first time NASA has broadcast a song in the endless dark, in 2008 by The Beatles around the universe was shot.
Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art were about pushing boundaries. Futuristic elements and space-themed storytelling have always been part of Missy’s style, so being able to work with her was perfect.
“We are excited to be working with NASA to bring this new spacecraft to the world,” said Brittany Brown, NASA’s communications director.
The song was launched from the 34-meter radio dish of the Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex deep space station in DSN Barstow, California, in the direction of Venus—which happens to be Missy Elliott's favorite planet. According to him, he chose this because the celestial body symbolizes power and beauty.It is such an honor to be able to share my art and message with the universe!“It's a great honor,” the 53-year-old artist said.
NASA will have a lot to do with Venus in the next decade. Two missions have been selected for 2021:
- The first is the Deep Atmoshpere Venus Investigation for Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging, also known as DAVINCEI, which will launch in 2029 and aims to explore the noble gases and chemistry of Venus.
- The second is the Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography and Spectroscopy, VERITAS, which will map the planet's geography, among other things.
Planned Venus probes are being built at JPL, and a radar system is currently under construction.
Follow the index on Facebook too!
