Despite its serious goals – such as testing the Orion capsule in deep space and imaging ancient lava flows on the lunar surface – NASA’s Artemis II mission also has a playful side.
Among the lighter touches is a plush moon toy named “Rise”, which serves as a zero-gravity indicator and carries a microchip filled with the names of space fans who signed up to have their presence sent to the Moon.
Then there are the “wakeup songs”, a long-running tradition from previous crewed missions. Each day, at the crew’s scheduled wakeup time, Mission Control radios the Orion capsule and plays a short clip of a song to start the day on a positive note.
So far, the playlist includes a cover of Passion Pit’s “Sleepyhead” by Young & Sick, “In a Daydream” by the Freddy Jones Band, and Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club” – the last of which prompted some cheeky feedback from the crew after Mission Control cut it off before the chorus.
“We were all eagerly awaiting the chorus,” said Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman. To help fans follow along, we have created a Spotify playlist for the mission’s soundtrack, and we will keep updating this article as more songs are revealed.
NASA’s use of these songs has also influenced Spotify listening habits. According to Spotify, “Sleepyhead” by Young & Sick saw a 2,100 percent increase in global streams on 5 April, while “Working Class Heroes (Work)” by CeeLo Green jumped by more than 1,700 percent the same day.
Wakeup calls for astronauts date back to the Apollo era. Apollo 10 astronauts woke up to Frank Sinatra’s “It’s Nice to Go Trav’ling”, and the crew of Apollo 15 heard the theme from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The space shuttle programme featured many memorable wakeup calls. During the STS-134 mission in 2011, pilot Greg Johnson’s son chose “Drops of Jupiter” for his father. Johnson replied: “I love that song, and I love being in space,” before apologising for missing his son’s birthday.
The same mission also played “Il Mio Pensiero” by Ligabue for mission specialist Roberto Vittori.
On the final shuttle mission, STS-135, pilot Doug Hurley selected Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida”, and later picked “Don’t Panic” for another day. REM frontman Michael Stipe personally sent an a cappella version of “Man on the Moon” for the crew.
A detailed list of these wakeup songs, including the charming and whimsical exchanges between astronauts and Mission Control, is available in a public document. What a lovely tradition.
