This article was published in Scientific American’s former blog network and reflects the views of the author, not necessarily those of Scientific American
Like most of us, NASA astronauts have to wake up and get to work—even when they're in space. So NASA is running a contest to select two new wake-up songs for the STS-134 shuttle crew when it's at the International Space Station. The winners will be announced and played during the next shuttle mission (NASA's second to last shuttle flight), set to launch on April 29.
NASA has asked for music suggestions before, but this time the public is voting for one song from a list of 10 finalists chosen by the agency among 1,350 entries. All the cuts are original compositions from independent songwriters. You can hear all 10 pieces on the voting page, and read a short paragraph about each singer-songwriter and what inspired him or her to write the song. Titles range from "Rocket Scientist" to "Spacing Out." The voting is open until launch day.
Let's hope the Endeavour astronauts like the winning tunes, especially if the songs get stuck in their heads. I wonder if zero gravity can help remedy that situation.
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Image courtesy of NASA via Wikimedia Commons