She has already won seven Grammys, six Teen Choice Awards and 15 MTV Video Music Awards.
But Missy Elliott has a new award to her name: she’s the first hip-hop artist to have a song streamed to Venus.
The lyrics of her hit song The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly) were sent 160 million miles through space to Earth’s evil twin by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
“My song “The Rain” has officially been transferred to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty & empowerment,” she tweeted.
‘The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.’
She’s already won seven Grammys, six Teen Choice Awards and 15 MTV Video Music Awards. But Missy Elliott has a new award under her belt, after becoming the first hip-hop artist to send a song to Venus
The lyrics of Missy Elliott’s hit, The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly), were beamed 158 million miles through space to Earth’s evil twin by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory
To send the song into space, NASA called upon its largest and most sensitive telecommunications service: the Deep Space Network (DSN).
The DSN has an array of gigantic radio antennas that can track spacecraft, send commands, and receive data from them.
Until now, the system had only sent one other song into space, making this transmission a first for hip-hop.
“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art are about pushing boundaries,” said Brittany Brown, director of the Digital and Technology Division in the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
‘Missy has a track record of combining space-related stories with futuristic imagery in her music videos, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of this world is really fitting.’
“My song “The Rain” has officially been sent all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment,” she tweeted. “The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning”
One user responded to the singer on X (formerly Twitter): “This is sooo cool, ma’am. We need to give the aliens some trash bags so they can have their full effect. Keep pushing the needle forward! This is hip hop history!”
The song was sent from a 34-meter-wide radio dish in California to Venus at the speed of sound, taking just 14 minutes to reach the planet, which is 255 million kilometers away.
The news has sent fans of both NASA and Missy Elliott into a frenzy, with one even calling it “hip-hop history.”
One user responded to the singer on X (formerly Twitter): ‘This is so cool, ma’am.
“We gotta give the aliens some trash bags so they can have the full effect. Keep pushing the needle forward! This is Hip Hop history!”
Another added: ‘Congrats again Queen uh astronaut @MissyElliott now the aliens can enjoy your music too’
Another added: ‘Congrats again Queen, astronaut @MissyElliott. Now the aliens can enjoy your music too.’
And one joked: “I’m just waiting for the aliens to react, SILENCE!”, referencing the Missy Elliott song Get Ur Freak On.
Besides providing entertainment for the aliens circling Venus, the transmission was also an important test for the DSN, which will be operating for years to come.
Two NASA missions are scheduled to explore Venus and send data back to Earth using the DSN: DAVINCI and VERITAS.
DAVINCI (Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble Gases, Chemistry, and Imaging) is expected to launch in 2029, while VERITAS (Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy) is scheduled for launch in 2031.