Think of the space shuttle as a high-tech road trip with
a difference: You can’t get out until the trip is over, pot and beer are
forbidden, and 125 miles straight down, somebody who isn’t even travelling with
you get to pick what’s on the tape deck. Astronaut Steve Robinson
For space lovers and music nerds, this past 10 days has been
a spectacular combination of our passions. With the launch of Artemis II, we
not only had the traditional Wake-Up Calls, but we also had astronaut and NASA
playlists of favorite moon and space-themed songs. But what is it about music
and space? Where did this tradition even really begin? Outside of that scope,
there is also a history of playing instruments singing songs in space. But how
did it even begin?
This blog post would not be possible without the wonderful
work of NASA historians such as Colin Fries and music lover Ross Spencer. NASA Johnson Space Center is also a wonderful source of music information. Their
links appear at the end of this post.
As a joke, in December of 1965, NASA woke up the Gemini 6
crew, Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford, with a parody of the song Hello, Dolly.
Furthermore, the crew would also be the first to officially play instruments in
space when they performed Jingle Bells on the bells and harmonica. This joke would
eventually become a fond tradition for NASA, the crew, and subsequently the
rest of us humans.
As missions crew longer, the importance of keeping the
astronauts on a schedule and keeping morale high were important. Remember, the astronauts
are travelling at 17,000 miles per hour as they orbit Earth. They have 16
sunrises and sunsets per 24 hours. Songs were lighthearted, meaningful, and/or jabs
at each other, especially when it came to alma matters and military background.
Apollo to Artemis
The moon missions fifty years apart could not have been more
different when it comes to style of music. And no, Apollo 11 did not have traditional
wake up music, the focus was on sports and news. The songs during the lunar
missions were popular songs from the time by artists such as Frank Sinatra and
Rober Goulet. There were also some moon-themed songs such as If I Ever Saw Your
Face.
The final moon mission prior to Artemis I and II was that of
Apollo 17 in 1972. It’s command and
service module (CSM) was nicknamed America. The wakeup call before their return
to Earth for Gene Cernan, Ron Evans, and Harrison Schmitt was John Denver’s version
of City of New Orleans, with the rousing chorus of “Good morning, America,
how are you?” And fittingly, a song played as they left lunar orbit was The Carpenter’s
song We’ve Only Just Begun.
Fast Forward 52 years to Artemis II fly around the moon. (We’ll
get to Shuttle, Skylab, MIR, and ISS, don’t worry).
Just like 1972, the songs for Astronauts commander Reid
Wiseman, pilot Victor Glover, mission specialist Christina Koch and Canadian
astronaut Jeremy Hansen they are uplifting and popular, such as Pink Pony Club by Chappel Roan and Working Class Heroes by CeeLo Green. Their final wake-up
call prior to splash down was 1999’s Run to the Water by Live, again showing
there is thought and love going into these selections. But it was really a pre-recorded
message for their wake-up call just prior to their passing Apollo 13’s record
for farthest distance from traveled by humans.
Hello, Artemis II! This is Apollo astronaut Jim Lovell. Welcome to my old neighborhood! When Frank Borman, Bill Anders, and I orbited the Moon on Apollo 8, we got humanity’s first up-close look at the Moon and got a view of the home planet that inspired and united people around the world. I’m proud to pass that torch on to you — as you swing around the Moon and lay the groundwork for missions to Mars … for the benefit of all. It’s a historic day, and I know how busy you’ll be. But don’t forget to enjoy the view. So, Reid, Victor, Christina, and Jeremy, and all the great teams supporting you – good luck and Godspeed from all of us here on the good Earth.
Skylab, Soyuz, and Shuttle
NASA continued the tradition of wake-up calls as space
technology and longevity of missions grew. Skylab, the first US space station,
had crewed missions from 1973-1975. With the Cold War simmering away, the
tensions between USSR and USA in space thawed slightly and saw the join Apollo-Soyuz
Mission in 1975. The songs for this historic, joint US-USSR mission were a
blend of American songs such as Good Morning, Sunshine and the aptly named Midnight
in Moscow.
The next shuttle missions would hear wake-up calls from Jim Henson and his Muppets. What also occurred during these Shuttle missions is that employees from the Johnson Space Center (JSC) who called themselves Contraband. They would pay song selections for the astronaut wake-up calls. Songs would continue to represent astronaut military branch, upcoming marriages, and soundtrack music from popular films from the time such as Flashdance and Rocky.
Even as NASA moved from the Shuttle to programs like the Mars Spirit and Opportunity Rover, the songs continued. While the songs were still meant for waking up, it was more for the mission team and their morale.
So, who chooses these songs over all these years and why? For the most part, it was the capsule communicator (CAPCOM) who would choose those songs. Yes, that guy not sitting in your car selecting the songs for your road trip. The CAPCOM is the only one speaking to the crew from Mission Control.
You play some lively, peppy bit of music – normally just two minutes of it – and after a pause, you hear some groggy voice on the microphone mumbling, ‘Good morning, Houston,’” Hadfield explains. “You don’t want to play a dirge or something uninspiring. You want to get them going in the morning.” Consequently, the selections are usually benign – it’s considered poor form, and possibly dangerous, to freak out a sleeping astronaut with Rob Zombie or Eminem. Astronaut Chris Hadfield.
Over the years, the songs have evolved from friendly ribbing to heartfelt dedications and special moments across the miles. Family members, fellow astronauts, and fellow astronaut musicians have been known to make heartfelt dedications.
Musicians in Space
While Wally Schirra and Tom Stafford were the first to play instruments (a smuggled harmonica and bells) in space, it was a Ukrainian astronaut to sing music in space in 1962. But it would be one of NASA's 1978 Group 8, "Group of New Guys" astronaut class and Contraband member, Ron McNair, to play the first saxophone in space, this too was smuggled like Schirra and Stafford's harmonica and bells. Ron, a trained jazz saxophonist, played with this fellow Contraband members on STS-41B Challenger. For STS-51-L, Ron was planning to play a song he had been working on with Jean-Michel Jarre for an upcoming album called Rendes Vous. The plan was for Ron to play in space while Jarre played live, and the music would be satellite fed live to the concert. While Ron was lost with the six other astronauts on board Challenger in 1986, Jarre paid homage to his friend with Last Rende Vous (Ron's Piece).
Jarre also came up with an idea for the track that, unbeknown to him, would take on a whole new meaning at the concert itself. “I found out from talking to people that in the total silence of space what you can hear the most is your own heartbeat. And then I got the idea to use Ron’s heartbeat to create the loop and the beat of the track. Obviously now, looking back, it has such a meaning given what happened later on."
NASA, Ron's fellow astronauts, and his wife worked with Jarre to ensure that piece was still played.
Many astronauts are also musicians. Due to their brilliance and also the known soothing and mental health qualities of music, it seems a natural fit. From Judy Resnik and Chris Hadfield and Cady Coleman to Contraband and Max Q, music brings home to space. It is also the act of playing their instruments in space and honing their craft in zero gravity that makes music so special. Not to mention when you can play in space along with your favorite musicians such as Ian Anderson, it makes the space memories a little more special.
Astronauts are no different than you or I when it comes to loving music. Music can
...astronaut Steve Robinson brought 20 discs. While riding an exercise bike on the lower level, Robinson listened to electric-blues guitarists Albert King and Stevie Ray Vaughan. While staring literally into space, he chose a musician friend’s version of Pachelbel’s Canon. He fell asleep to Chris Isaak. “It’s one of the most personal things that you’re able to take up in space. Wherever your music is, that’s sort of a version of home."
From Susan Rogers to Oliver Sacks, the study of why music “hits
us” the way it does knows no bounds. And as we all download the Artemis Playlist and wake-up call list to our iPhones, let us think about our journey back to the moon on Artemis III. What will those songs and wake-up calls sound like?
And more importantly, what would your space wake-up call be?
Chronology of Wakeup Calls