Missy Elliott has been an international icon for decades. And now, she’s an interplanetary one.
On Friday, the rapper’s 1997 hit “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” was transmitted at the speed of light roughly 158 million miles from Earth to Venus via NASA’s Deep Space Network.
According to NASA, the only other song ever transmitted this way was The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” in 2008.
NASA uses its Deep Space Network to “track, send commands and receive scientific data from spacecraft venturing to the moon and beyond.” In other words, it’s how NASA missions “phone home.” And while there’s no evidence of life on Venus, perhaps Elliot’s hit song will bring some aliens out.
Elliott, a space superfan who is currently on her “Out of This World” tour, expressed her excitement on Instagram.
“YOOO this is crazy!” she wrote. “We just went #OutOfThisWorld with @nasa and sent the FIRST hip hop song into space through the Deep Space Network. 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.”
