Missy Elliot’s song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” sent to Venus by NASA

This image of the large Quetzalpetlatl corona in Venus’ southern hemisphere shows active volcanism and a subduction zone where the crust in the foreground is plunging into the planet’s interior. A new study suggests that coronae reveal places where active geology is shaping Venus’ surface. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Peter Rubin

SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — NASA has made history again by sending a hip-hop song into space for the first time. The lyrics to Missy Elliot’s song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” were sent to Venus on Friday.

Only one other song has ever been sent into space – The Beatles’ “Across the Universe” was sent into space in February 2008, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Beatles’ recording of the song, as well as the 50th anniversary of the founding of NASA and the group’s beginnings.

The song – broadcast from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California at 10:05 a.m. Friday – is the first hip-hop song ever sent into space.

The transmission covered a distance of around 254 million kilometers from Earth to Venus, the artist’s favorite planet.

An inspirational message and the lyrics of “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” were transmitted to Venus via the 112-foot-wide dish antenna on NASA’s Deep Space Station 13 (DSS-13), located at DSN’s Goldstone Deep Space Communications Complex near Barstow, California.

The song was sent at the speed of light and reached Venus in just under 14 minutes, NASA says.

“Both space exploration and Missy Elliott’s art are about pushing boundaries,” said Brittany Brown, director of the Digital and Technology Division of the Office of Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington, who originally pitched ideas to Missy’s team for collaboration with the agency. “Missy already has experience infusing her music videos with space-centric storytelling and futuristic imagery, so the opportunity to collaborate on something out of the ordinary is a real fit.”

Two upcoming NASA missions will explore Venus and send data to Earth using the DSN.

“I still can’t believe I’m leaving this world with NASA via the Deep Space Network when ‘The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)’ is the first hip-hop song ever to be transmitted into space!” said Elliott. “I chose Venus because it symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment, and I’m so honored to have the opportunity to share my art and message with the universe!”

The DSN is managed by JPL for the SCaN program within the Space Operations Mission Directorate, located at NASA Headquarters.

For more information about NASA’s Deep Space Network, visit nasa.gov/communicating-with-missions/dsn/.