Yes—NASA sent Missy Elliott’s “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” toward Venus on July 12, 2024. The signal traveled through NASA’s Deep Space Network and took nearly 14 minutes to reach the planet at the speed of light, NASA reported.
What NASA sent to Venus
At 10:05 a.m. PDT on July 12, 2024, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) transmitted “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus through the Deep Space Network (DSN). NASA described it as the first hip-hop song transmitted to deep space. NASA’s announcement records the event.
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Venus was about 158 million miles (254 million kilometers) from Earth at the time. NASA said the radio-frequency signal, traveling at the speed of light, took nearly 14 minutes to arrive. That was the signal’s travel time—not a report that anyone or anything on Venus received or played the song.
Why Missy Elliott chose Venus
Elliott has called Venus her favorite planet. Explaining the choice, she said: “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!” NASA also quoted Brittany Brown, director of the Digital and Technology Division in the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters, saying that “both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art have been about pushing boundaries.” Brown said she had initially pitched collaboration ideas to Elliott’s team. NASA published both statements.
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Which antenna transmitted the song?
The transmission used Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13), a 34-meter (112-foot) antenna at NASA’s Goldstone complex near Barstow, California. The dish is nicknamed Venus. The name makes the choice of target especially fitting, but the transmission was a radio signal sent toward the planet, not a broadcast for listeners there.
How the Deep Space Network works
NASA’s DSN is an international system of large radio antennas used to communicate with interplanetary spacecraft; it also supports radar and radio astronomy. Its three complexes are at Goldstone in California, Madrid in Spain, and Canberra in Australia. They are spaced about 120 degrees apart in longitude so that as Earth rotates, one complex can take over communications when a spacecraft moves below another site’s horizon. NASA provides an overview of the Deep Space Network.
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NASA later included the Missy Elliott transmission among its accomplishments in its 2024 year-in-review.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What the transmission does—and does not—mean
The event was a one-time transmission of a song toward Venus. NASA’s account does not say the song was played back, received by an inhabited destination, or associated with a scientific discovery. Its significance in the announcement is the unusual cultural collaboration and NASA’s description of the transmission as the first hip-hop song sent to deep space.
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