Tag: NASA

Rocket Scientist Aisha Bowe Shares Her Space-Bound Soundtrack in Honor of Historic Blue Origin Flight

April 14, 2025

On Monday, April 14, Blue Origin’s NS-31 mission lifted off from Launch Site One in West Texas. This marked the 11th human flight for the New Shepard program and the 31st in its history. Notably, it was also the first all-female flight crew since Russian astronaut Valentina Tereshkova’s solo spaceflight in 1963.

The team included former NASA rocket scientist Aisha Bowe, bioastronautics research scientist Amanda Nguyễn, CBS Mornings cohost Gayle King, pop star Katy Perry, filmmaker Kerianne Flynn, and journalist and pilot Lauren Sánchez, who brought the mission together.

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Blue Origin (@blueorigin)

In honor of this momentous occasion, we asked Aisha to curate a special Spotify playlist, Lift Off & Let Go. Read on to hear from the entrepreneur and global STEM advocate about the historic mission, her vision for a more inclusive space industry, and the power of music to fuel your dreams.

First of all, congratulations! How does it feel to be part of the first all-female flight crew in the U.S.?

It’s empowering, humbling, and honestly about time. We’re women from wildly different backgrounds—film, activism, journalism, music—all bringing our full selves to this moment. And while it’s historic, it also feels natural, like this is exactly how it should be.

You’re a former NASA rocket scientist. What has it been like to share this experience with people outside the space industry?

Space is bold, fun, and for everyone. We often think of space in the realm of fiction, like Star Trek—that wild, inclusive, futuristic vision. Well, that future is now. One of the best parts of this journey has been sharing it with people outside the space industry, because the next wave of space travelers won’t just come from labs or launchpads. They’ll come from classrooms, coffee shops, creative studios, and neighborhoods just like yours.

How did music help you prepare for this flight?

Music fueled my training, hyping me up for the fighter jet flights, the high G-force simulations, and yes, even the skydives. Preparing for space isn’t just physical, it’s emotional and mental. Music helped me get in the zone, stay grounded, and keep moving forward, even when things felt intense.

And now future space travelers can be inspired by your Spotify playlist. What did you have in mind when selecting these songs?

My picks range from my go-to classics to new high-energy sounds that get the adrenaline going. It features some of my favorite badass, trailblazing women, like Beyoncé, Rihanna, Dua Lipa, Nicki Minaj, Ariana Grande, Chappell Roan—and of course I’ve got my crewmate Katy Perry on there! It’s a mix of motivation, confidence, and pure vibe, because sometimes the right song is exactly what you need to push through and show up strong.

Ultimately, I wanted this playlist to feel like a liftoff. Every track was chosen to reflect a part of the journey to launch. These are songs that motivate, center, and energize. It’s a mix of confidence, legacy, and joy. Some songs remind me of where I started. Others push me to imagine what’s possible. But together, they tell a story of movement, of rising up. Whether you’re prepping for your own mission or just trying to power through your day, I hope this playlist reminds you that you’re capable of so much more than you think. This is the soundtrack to that moment when you decide to go for it.

Last question: If this flight had one theme song, what would it be?

“Level Up” by Ciara. Hands down. It’s bold, high-energy, and all about growth, discipline, and showing up better than you were the day before—which is exactly what this journey has been about for me. And the music video even starts with a countdown! It doesn’t get more launch-ready than that.

Ready for takeoff? Stream Aisha’s playlist on Spotify.

NASA Astronaut Christina Koch Shares How Music and Podcasts Made Groundbreaking Trip Extra-Stellar

March 23, 2020

NASA astronaut Christina Koch may have spent 328 consecutive days floating in space (the longest-ever single spaceflight for a woman), but her love for all things audio kept her firmly grounded throughout the journey. 

As part of celebrating Women’s History Month, For the Record recently spoke with Christina to talk about the role of podcasts and music for her and the crew, as well as her friends and family back on Earth. Read on to hear from Christina how Spotify was no “Space Oddity” on board and to check out some amazing photos from outer space. 

 

Blastoff Songs to Celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon Landing

July 15, 2019

There are more than 185,000 tracks on Spotify with “Moon” in the title—any of which are appropriate to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing. On July 15, we’re queueing up the most popular of these “Moon” tunes, alongside some illuminating insights from NASA on how music is enjoyed in space. Songs like “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars and Frank Sinatra’s iconic duet with Count Basie “Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words)” are among the lunar tunes listeners love most. 

David Bowie’s “Moonage Daydream” and Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Bad Moon Rising” are among listeners’ favorites, in addition to R.E.M.’s “Man On The Moon.” The list features several tunes titled “Moonlight,” including ones from Ariana Grande and Grace VanderWaal. 

According to NASA, it was customary for flight crews to be roused with wake-up songs played from Mission Control—tunes alluding to space or the sun rising were common choices. Along with being music lovers, quite a few astronauts also possess musical skill—and have even demonstrated it by rocketing instruments into space. Yet mastery of music in orbit is an even greater challenge than down on Earth.

“Playing a guitar without gravity is…messy,” says retired Canadian astronaut and former commander of the International Space Station, Colonel Chris Hadfield. “There’s nothing to hold it on your knee, or to suspend it by the strap, so it floats free, and every time you move your hands it wants to take off. I eventually learned to pinch it against my chest with my right bicep to hold it still. Even still, accurate picking was hard, and the muscle memory up and down the fretboard was wrong without the arm’s weight, so I overshot.”