Missy Elliott has made history after NASA blasted one of her most iconic hits to Venus, marking the first time a rap song has been beamed into deep space.
Last Friday (July 12) NASA blasted Elliott’s 1997 Timbaland-produced hit “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” into space from its Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California. The song traveled about 158 million miles at the speed of light from Earth to Venus.
Elliott’s debut solo single took approximately 14 minutes to reach the planet, often dubbed Earth’s evil twin. The transmission was made via a massive 112-foot wide Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13) radio dish antenna, nicknamed Venus.
Missy Elliott celebrated the astronomical accolade on social media, sharing her excitement over the honor.
“YOOO this is crazy! We just went #OutOfThisWorld with NASA and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network,” she explained. “My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty, and empowerment. The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”
Missy Elliott revealed that she chose Venus because of the qualities it represents. “I am so humbled to have the opportunity to share my art and my message with the universe!” she added.
NASA said in a statement, “Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries. 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.”
Missy Elliott follows in the footsteps of The Beatles. Their single “Across the Universe,” was the first song NASA beamed into deep space in 2008.
