How the moon and music have collided in space

Astronauts in space have long relied on music to anchor their routines, yet the genre they choose often defies expectations. While earthly listeners might associate techno with workouts or pop with road trips, the lunar missions of NASA’s Artemis II have featured an eclectic mix, including Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” and Tokyo Drifting by Glass Animals and Denzel Curry. These tracks now form the soundtrack of the crew’s orbital journey, marking a unique intersection between celestial exploration and contemporary sound.

US rapper Denzel Curry shared his astonishment with BBC Newsbeat, expressing pride that his music resonated with astronauts. “If I ever met them, I’d want to give them all a hug for even thinking about me,” he said, highlighting the emotional impact of being included in a space playlist. Curry, who has always been drawn to space-themed films, sees this as a chance for his work to gain a “second life” and hopes to become the first rapper to perform in orbit.

“Music is really important to have in space. It gives you a connection back to Earth,” said retired British astronaut Tim Peake, recalling his 2015 mission to the International Space Station. Peake’s personal playlist featured Queen’s “Don’t Stop Me Now,” U2’s “Beautiful Day,” and Coldplay’s “A Sky Full of Stars,” which he described as creating a “surreal” link to home. “You look back and see the entire planet—a blue, green, white marble in the blackness of space. That’s it. That’s home,” he added.

From mission control to the cosmos

Antonia Jaramillo, a NASA mission controller, explained the process of curating space playlists. “The songs are downloaded, then our team broadcasts them to the crew,” she said, noting that it’s akin to other communication methods used in space missions. For Artemis II, the playlist was a collaborative effort between the astronauts and their loved ones, blending personal favorites with tracks tied to the mission’s significance.

Historically, music has been a tool for morale and ritual in space. Dr Eleanor Armstrong, a space researcher at the University of Leicester, traced this tradition back to the Gemini program of the 1960s. “Playing songs in the morning dates back to the Gemini era,” she said, pointing out that even the US Navy used music to start the day. This practice continues today, with astronauts like Christina Koch, part of Artemis II, showing a keen interest in “music in space.”

A legacy of space sound

Music in space isn’t limited to crewed missions. The Voyager probe, launched in 1977, carried a golden record of sounds and songs representing human culture. Armstrong mentioned that even now, the SpaceX Tesla Roadster in orbit plays David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” on repeat, symbolizing the enduring connection between music and space exploration.

One of the earliest examples of human music in space occurred during the Gemini 6A mission in 1965. Astronauts Thomas Stafford and Wally Schirra surprised mission control by playing “Jingle Bells” using a smuggled harmonica and small bells, creating a festive moment in the vacuum of space. These instruments are now displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C., a testament to the creative spirit that has accompanied space travel since its dawn.