What just happened? NASA transmitted hip-hop artist Missy Elliott’s iconic track “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus, making her the first hip-hop artist to have her music sent into space. The Deep Space Network at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory beamed the song 158 million miles to our celestial neighbor using its powerful radio antennas.
NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN) sent Elliott’s funky lyrics and beats hustling through the vacuum of space at lightspeed on July 12, 2024, with the signal taking around 14 minutes to reach its Venusian destination. The transmission was handled by DSN 13’s 112-foot wide radio dish antenna at NASA’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex close to Barstow, California.
Brittany Brown from NASA’s communications team initially pitched the idea of a collaboration to Miss E’s team. Brown said both space exploration and the hip-hop artist’s art have been about “pushing boundaries.” She noted that Elliott has a history of incorporating space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals into her music videos, making the opportunity to work together on something “so out of this world” genuinely fitting.
Elliott was over the moon about the interplanetary premiere of her 1997 smash hit.
“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,” gushed the rapper.
She also tweeted that she chose Venus for the transmission because it symbolizes “strength, beauty, and empowerment.”
YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with @NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. My song “The Rain” has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment. The sky is… pic.twitter.com/g6HofNQSt1
– Missy Elliott (@MissyElliott) July 15, 2024
The trajectory of Elliott’s three-decade career has been as stratospheric as the recent journey of her music. Similarly, NASA’s DSN has spent over 60 years communicating with robotic explorers venturing beyond Earth’s bounds.
The stunt is more than just a one-off novelty act. It’s an early overture that prologues three new missions to study Venus in unprecedented detail over the next decade. NASA has scheduled Venus-bound Davinci and Veritas probes to launch in 2029 and 2031, respectively. The European Space Agency is also prepping its Envision orbiter, with crucial contributions from JPL.
While Elliott’s hit may be the first hip-hop track to go interplanetary, it’s not the maiden musical voyage for the DSN. The network beamed the Beatles classic “Across the Universe” towards the North Star Polaris back in 2008.
“Send my love to the aliens,” quipped Paul McCartney at the time, one of the two remaining Beatles giving their cosmic sing-along an official blessing.
Masthead credit: Jurik Peter
