In a first for music and space history, a song has been broadcast back to Earth from the surface of another planet. On Tuesday, students gathered at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory to hear "Reach for the Stars" by musician will.i.am after it was transmitted by the Curiosity rover on Mars.
A well-known advocate of science education, will.i.am told collectSPACE he hoped the song would encourage and remind them just how important their involvement in the sciences is to the future.
Wehaveliftoff Member
Posts: 2343 From: Registered: Aug 2001
posted 08-29-2012 11:25 AM
I have a CD containing many sounds of the planetary journey to Mars and other planetary sounds released many years ago from the Voyager missions. I'll post the title and numbers when I find it.
jimsz Member
Posts: 616 From: Registered: Aug 2006
posted 08-29-2012 12:39 PM
Yet another ridiculous PR stunt by NASA.
Is it any wonder people question the purpose of NASA?
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 08-29-2012 02:18 PM
You know what was also criticized as a PR stunt? Hitting a golf ball off the moon.
NASA achieved a technological and engineering marvel landing Curiosity on Mars, a mobile lab that has the potential to make just as impressive science discoveries.
That it can also be used to extend our culture into the solar system and engage an underrepresented audience on Earth (i.e. students who normally couldn't relate to a rover on Mars), then that seems hardly a reason to complain.
Curiosity and Apollo 14 are great missions; a song and some "little white pellets" does nothing to detract from that.
jimsz Member
Posts: 616 From: Registered: Aug 2006
posted 08-29-2012 03:49 PM
quote:Originally posted by Robert Pearlman: You know what was also criticized as a PR stunt? Hitting a golf ball off the moon.
The golf ball was a decision made by one man independent of the agency. It was a cheesy stunt but made by one guy, kind of enjoyable. Made by an agency it would have been ridiculous.
quote:That it can also be used to extend our culture into the solar system and engage an underrepresented audience on Earth (i.e. students who normally couldn't relate to a rover on Mars), then that seems hardly a reason to complain.
For the children? Seriously?
A bad PR stunt that cheapens the accomplishment.
dogcrew5369 Member
Posts: 750 From: Statesville, NC Registered: Mar 2009
posted 08-29-2012 04:05 PM
A ludicrous idea and on top of that I heard the song stinks and it should have stayed on Mars.
Robert Pearlman Editor
Posts: 42981 From: Houston, TX Registered: Nov 1999
posted 08-29-2012 04:17 PM
Were this just a celebrity trying to attach himself to a NASA mission, I could perhaps understand the derision, but will.i.am's record of supporting STEM (and STEAM, the "A" being for Arts) education is well-established.
As just one example, when Dean Kamen's FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics program couldn't get network support for a television broadcast, will.i.am purchased the airtime on ABC and enlisted his friends in music and entertainment to bring attention to a program solely aimed at getting kids to take up science.
I think its a bit shortsighted to criticize that effort because you don't like his style of music or because you weren't personally entertained.
Aztecdoug Member
Posts: 1405 From: Huntington Beach Registered: Feb 2000
posted 08-29-2012 04:22 PM
I would have gone with David Bowie's Life On Mars. I have no idea what he was singing about, but the title is about right for the mission.
mikej Member
Posts: 481 From: Germantown, WI USA Registered: Jan 2004
posted 08-29-2012 06:54 PM
Remember the drama of Curiosity's software update?
"You have to imagine that if something goes wrong with this, it could be the last time you hear from the rover," said senior flight software engineer Steve Scandore in an interview with Computerworld. "It has to work. You don't want to be known as the guy doing the last activity on the rover before you lose contact."
Cichy explains that it took so long because every interaction takes about 30 minutes: 14 minutes to send a signal to the rover in space, 14 minutes to get a response. That means even though it only took a few minutes for the software to actually install, each step of the process of making it happen was painfully slow.
Kinda seems silly now that we know that half of all that was just uploading MP3s ...
AJ Member
Posts: 511 From: Plattsburgh, NY, United States Registered: Feb 2009
posted 08-29-2012 07:21 PM
Seriously? Music on another planet and people are complaining? Get a grip, dudes.
star61 Member
Posts: 294 From: Bristol UK Registered: Jan 2005
posted 08-30-2012 01:56 PM
The first voice from Mars should have been... "No one would have believed..." — Richard Burton... da da dah...
englau Member
Posts: 110 From: tampa, florida, usa Registered: Mar 2012
posted 08-30-2012 08:36 PM
It is ridiculous that people are complaining about a song being played from it, especially if it caused no physical harm to any equipment. I just think its wonderful that NASA is getting good press these days and that they are trying to engage my generation. It seems that a lot of kids and adults alike think NASA had been shut down and this Curiosity publicity is changing that. Anything NASA can do to prolong and generate interest is worth it's weight in gold.
spaceman Member
Posts: 1104 From: Walsall, West Midlands, UK Registered: Dec 2002
posted 09-01-2012 01:42 PM
I think the BBC have had a Curiosity related news item everyday since the landing and days before the landing event too. They also included the Will.i.am piece.
We've never had coverage like it so something is working... including the martian based marvel 'Curiosity'.
posted 08-28-2012 07:13 PM
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