NASA broadcasts hip-hop track into space for the first time

NASA has beamed a hip-hop hit out into the Milky Way Galaxy for the first time. The Southern California-based Jet Propulsion Laboratory broadcast Missy Elliott’s debut 1997 single ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)’ towards Venus (Elliott’s favourite planet), travelling about 254 million kilometres at light speed. The transmission was sent at 10:05 AM PDT this past Friday, 12th July, using NASA’s Deep Space Network (DSN), which uses a number of giant radio antennas to send data to the Earth’s moon and further afield, and took about 14 minutes to reach its target. “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!” Elliott said in a press statement. “I chose Venus because it symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment, and I am so humbled to have the opportunity to share my art and my message with the universe!” “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries”, NASA communications director Brittany Brown said. “Missy has a track record of infusing space-centric storytelling and futuristic visuals in her music videos so the opportunity to collaborate on...