Posted by Ray Katz in Mars, current
Muse and music in space
Following last year’s announcement by Spandau Ballet, the essentially defunct ’90s band, that they plan a concert in space, another group, Muse, now suggests they will do the same. (Ok, Spandau Ballet DID have a reunion tour in 2009.) Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo may replace MySpace as the preferred publicity vehicle of bands.
Music in space is not new. Space travelers have strummed guitars aboard space stations. And, way back when, Wally Schirra played “Jingle Bells” aboard Gemini 6 on harmonica. Further afield, the British band Blur composed music that was sent to Mars aboard a landing craft called Beagle 2. The lander was to use the music as a signal to call home. The signal never came; Beagle 2 disappeared.
As yet, Virgin Galactic has not yet flown even a test flight of SpaceShipTwo in space. I wonder if the bands will stop with the publicity they’ve garnered for planning space concerts…and save the $200,000 which the carrier charges per ticket.
