Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix songs are now on the moon
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(Credits: Pedro Lastra)
For the first time since 1972, an American spacecraft has touched down on the moon, bringing digitised recordings from some of the greatest musicians ever, including Jimi Hendrix.
The spacecraft, called Odysseus, has tucked tunes into the time capsule resting on the moon’s surface from legendary 20th-century artists including Elvis Presley, Marvin Gaye, Santana, Chuck Berry, Sly & the Family Stone, Bob Marley, Janis Joplin, The Who as well as Hendrix.
According to Dallas Santana, who came up with the idea, these songs have been selected because they are “music that stands the test of time.”
There are also photos ranging from Woodstock to album covers such as Pink Floyd‘s The Dark Side Of The Moon, all stored in a strong glass, nickel, and NanoFiche structure designed to endure millions, if not billions, of years, per Billboard.
From ancient Sumerian cuneiform music fragments to contemporary Timbaland beats, this lunar art museum covers millennia of musical history. It also includes a documentary, specifically Michael P. Nash’s well-regarded 2010 film Climate Refugees.
“In case we blow ourselves up with a nuclear weapon or a meteor hits us or climatic change wipes us out, there’s a testament of our history sitting on the moon,” Nash said.
Some of the songs selected have never been heard, according to Santana. “Songs that have never been released, ever — they’re on the moon now,” he said, adding that “the world will find out about them.”
He also stressed that his selection of music from 1969 and artists who performed at Woodstock was deliberate as that year marked the first moon landing, not long before Woodstock. Santana expressed his wish for the time capsule to evoke a similar feeling of peace and unity.
Discussing the decision to keep some details in the dark, he explained: “NASA doesn’t know – SpaceX doesn’t know yet. Elon Musk is the greatest rocketeer of all time, we’re grateful for his company. When we decided to have conversations about musicians last year, we thought it was not appropriate to bring to it to his attention what we were going to do.”
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