How NASA beamed a song from Earth to Venus
NASA has achieved a historic milestone by transmitting the hip-hop song "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by artist Missy Elliott to Venus. The transmission was sent via NASA's Deep Space Network (DSN) from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. This marks the first time a hip-hop song has been transmitted into deep space. Brittany Brown, director of the Digital and Technology Division at NASA's Office of Communications, noted that both space exploration and Elliott's art push boundaries.
The groovy beats reached Venus in about 14 minutes
The song traveled approximately 254 million kilometers from Earth to reach Venus, known to be the artist's favorite planet. The radio frequency signal, moving at the speed of light, took about 14 minutes to cover this vast distance. The 34-meter Deep Space Station 13 radio dish antenna, part of NASA's DSN, was instrumental in this transmission. This is the second song ever transmitted into deep space by NASA, the first being Beatles's "Across the Universe" beamed on February 4, 2008.
All you need to know about NASA's DSN
The DSN is a global network of large radio antennas and communications facilities located in the US, Spain, and Australia. This strategic placement allows the DSN to maintain constant communication with spacecraft as the Earth rotates. Each site is capable of transmitting and receiving extremely weak signals, providing critical two-way communications for spacecraft to enable command and control, data reception, tracking, and radio science experiments.
Elliott expressed her excitement saying, 'I still can't believe...'
Elliott expressed her excitement saying, "I still can't believe I'm going out of this world with NASA through the Deep Space Network when 'The Rain' (Supa Dupa Fly) becomes the first-ever hip-hop song to transmit to space." Brown highlighted that Elliott's track record of incorporating space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos made this collaboration fitting. Glen Nagle, a representative for DSN, stated that NASA's partnership with Elliott was attracting a new generation of "scientists, explorers and dreamers."
NASA's upcoming missions to study Venus
NASA has planned two missions, DAVINCI and VERITAS, to study Venus. These missions will transmit information back to Earth via the DSN. The first mission, DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging), is scheduled for launch by 2029. The second mission, VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy), is anticipated to launch by 2031.
