Space DJ For Artemis
Alongside testing the Orion capsule and scouting the Moon’s surface, NASA gave the Artemis II crew something a little more human… a soundtrack.
Each morning, Mission Control radioed up a wake-up song, a tradition dating back to the Apollo program. Not alarms. Not buzzers. Music. Picked by the crew and even their families.
Here’s how the mission woke up, day by day:
- Flight Day 1: “Sleepyhead” – Young & Sick
- Flight Day 2: “Green Light” – John Legend feat. André 3000
- Flight Day 3: “In a Daydream” – Freddy Jones Band
- Flight Day 4: “Pink Pony Club” – Chappell Roan
- Flight Day 5: “Working Class Heroes (Work)” – CeeLo Green
- Flight Day 6: “Good Morning” – Mandisa & TobyMac
- Flight Day 7: “Tokyo Drifting” – Denzel Curry & Glass Animals
- Flight Day 8: “Under Pressure” – Queen & David Bowie
- Flight Day 9: “Lonesome Drifter” – Charley Crockett
- Flight Day 10: “Run to the Water” – Live
Bonus: “Free” – Zac Brown Band (part of the final message)
It wasn’t always smooth. When “Pink Pony Club” got cut off before the chorus, commander Reid Wiseman joked about it, and Christina Koch admitted she sang the rest of it all day anyway.
Even back on Earth, people were listening. Streams for some songs spiked over 2,000 percent.
Because this isn’t just about waking astronauts up. It’s about connection. Crew to crew. Space to Earth.
And it’s not stopping here.
Next up is Artemis III, currently targeted for the late 2020s, when NASA plans to land astronauts on the Moon again for the first time since 1972.
You can bet one thing… when they get there, somebody’s hitting play. Maybe, I could ride-along and be the first Space DJ!
Doug O’Brien
