NASA Transmits Hip-Hop Song To Deep Space for First Time (nasa.gov) 89
NASA: The stars above and on Earth aligned as an inspirational message and lyrics from the song "The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)" by hip-hop artist Missy Elliott were beamed to Venus via NASA's DSN (Deep Space Network). The agency's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California sent the transmission at 10:05 a.m. PDT on Friday, July 12. As the largest and most sensitive telecommunication service of NASA's Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) program, the DSN has an array of giant radio antennas that allow missions to track, send commands, and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the Moon and beyond. To date, the system has transmitted only one other song into space, making the transmission of Elliott's song a first for hip-hop and NASA.
"Both space exploration and Missy Elliott's art have been about pushing boundaries," said Brittany Brown, director, Digital and Technology Division, Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who initially pitched ideas to Missy's team to collaborate with the agency. "Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting." The song traveled about 158 million miles (254 million kilometers) from Earth to Venus -- the artist's favorite planet. Transmitted at the speed of light, the radio frequency signal took nearly 14 minutes to reach the planet. The transmission was made by the 34-meter (112-foot) wide Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13) radio dish antenna, located at the DSN's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow in California. Coincidentally, the DSS-13 also is nicknamed Venus.
"Both space exploration and Missy Elliott's art have been about pushing boundaries," said Brittany Brown, director, Digital and Technology Division, Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who initially pitched ideas to Missy's team to collaborate with the agency. "Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is truly fitting." The song traveled about 158 million miles (254 million kilometers) from Earth to Venus -- the artist's favorite planet. Transmitted at the speed of light, the radio frequency signal took nearly 14 minutes to reach the planet. The transmission was made by the 34-meter (112-foot) wide Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13) radio dish antenna, located at the DSN's Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex, near Barstow in California. Coincidentally, the DSS-13 also is nicknamed Venus.
Is the RIAA going to Sue for copyright infringemen (Score:5, Funny)
Is the RIAA going to Sue for copyright infringement
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Probably not..however, I'm pretty sure that by transmitting Rap to the universe, we will ensure no one will come visit us....
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Probably not..however, I'm pretty sure that by transmitting Rap to the universe, we will ensure no one will come visit us....
just NASA's new Anti-UAP technology
our tax dollars hard at work
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Meanwhile, on an alien deep-space refinery ship...
"We've decoded part of the message. It doesn't look like a distress call."
"What is it then?"
"It looks like a warning."
Could be Dangerous (Score:2)
I'm pretty sure that by transmitting Rap to the universe, we will ensure no one will come visit us....
I'm not so sure. They may come to visit us just to make certain we never transmit any more.
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It's a way to spur private space investment. The RIAA has already shown that they are willing to go to the ends of the Earth to collect their winnings. NASA is banking on them going to the ends of the universe to make sure that the 0.004 cents per stream is paid. While they are out there, they can carry a few probes.
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NASA didn't take any risk (Score:4, Funny)
the radio frequency signal took nearly 14 minutes to reach the planet
and thankfully was received by nobody. NASA wouldn't risk antagonizing potential alien life, so they aimed at a known dead planet.
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and thankfully was received by nobody. NASA wouldn't risk antagonizing potential alien life, so they aimed at a known dead planet.
We better hope that's true. Otherwise we're about to hear from a bunch of uptight Venusians.
If toy transmit a song (Score:2)
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I'm reminded of a dramatization that styled itself like a documentary from 1993 called Living and Working In Outer Space [imdb.com]. 'Weird Al' Yankovic played a rock star named Giles Standish who wanted to play a rock concert on the moon. When he was asked about zero atmosphere, he replied something to the effect of, "If a tree falls in a forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? YES! IF IT'S A REALLY LOUD TREE!"
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i want to see the video (Score:2)
WHY? (Score:5, Insightful)
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DEI
That is all.
Missy Elliot would make a great Clingon. (Score:1)
Usual reason (Score:2)
Middle aged middle class academic types often think that the way to get "the youth" engaged with their particular specialism is to somehow get down and pretend to be on-the-pulse. In this case they no doubt think that someone mentioning that they broadcast cRap music to the universe will get the homeboys flocking to learn about relativity theory and newtonian mechanics whereas all that will happen is a collective eye roll and "meh, whatever". If people are interested in a subject they'll study it, you can't
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The people who work at NASA now probably grew up with Missy Elliot. Her first hit was damn near 30 years ago.
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What made you think they listened to any of it? Plenty of rap around when I was young, couldn't stand it then, can't stand it now. Its morons music.
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To anger snowflakes.
Re: WHY? (Score:1)
"You misspelled cunt"
Tell us you're afraid of women without telling us.
Please don't feed the trolls. (Score:2)
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It's not worth wasting your effort on replies to individuals so lame that they post their own words as AC rather than themselves.
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It was organized by someone looking to improve their career and get their name out there. The lady whose idea it was made sure her name and title were plastered all over the media release.
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WHY?
To keep alien life away.
No Stairway?! (Score:2)
IMNSHO, Stairway to Heaven would have been a more appropriate song.
Re:No Stairway?! (Score:4, Funny)
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Don't you mean this song [youtube.com]?
Re:No Stairway?! No this (Score:2)
by Astral Projection!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Curious... (Score:3)
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Kenneth knows.
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What's the frequency Kenneth?
A series of Hips and Hops (Score:2)
Anyone know what frequency this transmission was? Modulation type?
Protocol uses a series of Hips and Hops. To the beat of a network hum.
I hear network engineers at the interview are asked to rap DNS records and carry a beat when pinging.
And next up.... (Score:5, Insightful)
They can start sending the hip hop artists into deep space.
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I like hip-hop, or at least some of it. The lyrics can be quite clever and there's a surprising amount of depth to how some artists construct rhymes. Some of the music is good too.
I was listening to French artist Guizmo recently. I don't speak much French so didn't understand most of it, but it's like vocal jazz. The composition itself is interesting, even if you don't know exactly what the notes are.
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Yeah, we need to send about 95% of the current generation of recording artists out into deep space. Also, studio staff who synthetically alter every bit of natural variance of pitch and tempo need to join them. (actually hell may be better than deep space for them).
I'm sorry, but current "music" has been reduced to something akin to midi.
And Quorg said to Crysanthar.... (Score:2)
"I hear banjos...."
"Missy Elliott's art " (Score:3, Insightful)
Art? Don't make me laugh. Most Rap is on the Tracy Emin scale of talent - ie next to none. Any idiot can speak bad rhyme with a comedy ghetto accent over a drum machine or sampled music someone with actual talent wrote as the thousands of kids doing it every day on tiktok and youtube demonstrate.
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If sitting on your ass is so easy, why don't you do it and get rich?
typical merkins (Score:2)
Time for... (Score:2)
Time for the alien drive-by. Hopefully they're just as bad of shots as our own gangs.
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Instead of Venus... (Score:2)
Instead of Venus...send to the New Horizons space probe, or the Voyagers the M.C. Hammer song "You Can't Touch This"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
Although with the high temperatures and atmospheric pressure on Venus it might be appropriate to send it to the relics of the space probes, then back to Earth. :)
JoshK.
Surely there were better alternatives? (Score:2)
"Deep Space 9mm" by El-P
"Mars Attacks", "Bring Back Pluto" by Aesop Rock
"Iron Galaxy" by Cannibal Ox
"Space Gangster" by Fat Jon & Styrofoam
"Distant Star" by MF DOOM (RIP)
"Two Different Worlds" by Epic Beard Men
"5000 Miles West Of The Future" by Mike Ladd
"Sun Vs. Moon" by Sage Francis
"Escape 2 Mars" by The Gift of Gab (RIP)
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You forgot "Space Truckin'" by Deep Purple
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Star Guitar by The Chemical Brothers https://youtu.be/0S43IwBF0uM?s... [youtu.be]
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"Venus, the Bringer of Peace" - Gustav Holst
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I mean, there's a lot else they could have used, but I at least tried to stay in Hip Hop...
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Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft -- The Carpenters
Next target: uranus (Score:2)
Deep Space? (Score:2)
Venus is considered "deep space" now?
Great no aliens (Score:2)
They will FOR SURE want to come "neutralize" us now.
Thanks NASA!
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>> They will FOR SURE want to come "neutralize" us now.
We can only hope. I mean they can't fuck things up any more than humans already have. I for one welcome our purple slime-oozing overlords.
Eruption (Score:2)
Eruption's version is my favorite. And I guess a bit of it got transmitted too. https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
after reading these comments (Score:2, Insightful)
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Music is subjective. There is no inherently better or worse. One person's wine is another person's vinegar.
That said, I personally feel that sending this as our message to any listening aliens is something that I as an earthling would not be proud of.
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Music is subjective. There is no inherently better or worse. One person's wine is another person's vinegar.
I understand and appreciate your sentiment, but I think it's demonstrably incorrect.
Let's take an extreme to establish a baseline. Compare the output of a random piano student against the output of Beethoven. The former performer lacks the experience and understanding to compete. Their music is objectively, mathematically worse.
Examine that a bit and figure out why. Beethoven's composition (and performance) will be richer, more properly executed, and more technically complex. Symphonic performances
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>> If the lyrics weren't incendiary, the genres would never have taken off.
Truly Interesting hypothesis. I feel you're onto something except I googled the lyrics for this "song", as I hadn't heard it.
https://www.google.com/search?... [google.com]
Nothing futuristic, incendiary or anything else. Just bland, repetitive, irritating, disposable pop garbage clearly written by and for people with very low quality expectations from their music. Why the hell NASA chose this song from all that exist beats me.
I can see the meeting (Score:2)
Scientist A: free candy?
Scientist B: uh, how about some of that hippity hoppity?
Nasa Guy: Hippity hoppity it is
Scientist C: My cousin in Missy Elliot. Maybe she'll do it.
Nasa Guy: I though your name was smith? nevermind, hip it up!
Now the aliens will NEVER come! (Score:2)
They'll go to planets with REAL music. :-)
eye roll (Score:4, Funny)
"Both space exploration and Missy Elliott's art have been about pushing boundaries," said Brittany Brown, director, Digital and Technology Division, Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who initially pitched ideas to Missy's team to collaborate with the agency.
First of all, groan.
Secondly ... how many decades/centuries now have we been "pushing boundaries" when it comes to art? What boundaries, exactly, could possibly be left?
Oh wow (Score:2)
Kanye West now hatin' NASA (Score:2)
Can't wait for the next Ye track dissing NASA.
Oh no, here come the Guvuntts! (Score:2)
Intergalactic (Score:2)
Yeah right.. (Score:2)