Andrei Mihai
While many people would (and probably should) claim that the Beatles are the best band, most aliens would definetly disagree. But the fab four are going to become radio stars in a whole new way, and this is why.On Monday, NASA will broadcast the Beatles’ song “Across the Universe” across the galaxy to Polaris, the North Star. This is the first beaming of a radio song by the space agency directly into deep space and weirdly enough, it is nostalgia-driven.
In case you don’t know, it celebrates the 40th anniversary of the song and the 45th anniversary of NASA’s Deep Space Network. “Send my love to the aliens,” Paul McCartney told NASA through a Beatles historian. “All the best, Paul.” Too bad John and George are not here to witness their first intergalactic hit.
The song, written by McCartney and John Lennon will travel at the speed of light but it will take it 431 years along a long and winding road to reach its final destination. For this, NASA used an MP3 of the song, just under four minutes in its original version, and will transmit it digitally at 7 p.m. EST Monday from its giant antenna in Madrid, Spain. Reach for the stars, Beatles!
