In keeping with a 60-year tradition, NASA played music for the Artemis II crew as they journeyed around the Moon. As the first human-led moon mission since Apollo 17 in 1972, Artemis has drawn a lot of attention at home and abroad. Now that the astronauts are on their journey home, NASA has shared some lighter aspects of space travel. To wake the astronauts, NASA Mission Control has a curated playlist of songs. Tracks are picked by the crew, NASA, or by astronauts families. Occasionally, there are messages from home, usually recorded by celebrities or important figures. For example, Robin Williams recorded a message for the Discovery crew in 1988, quoting his famous lines from Good Morning, Vietnam. The Artemis II playlist, however, is a thoroughly modern reminder of home. Currently, there are eight songs on the playlist, which NASA released on Spotify. As the crew makes their way back to Earth, there will no doubt be more songs added to the playlist. So far there is Sleepyhead by Young & Sick, Green Light by John Legend and Andre 3000, In a Daydream by Freddy Jones Band, Pink Pony Club by Chappell Roan, Working Class Heroes (Work) by CeeLo Green, Good Morning by Mandisa and TobyMac, Tokyo Drifting by Glass Animals and Denzel Curry, and Under Pressure by Queen and David Bowie. Why Does NASA Play Music for the Astronauts? NASA has played music for shuttle crews as a wake-up call for more than 60 years. The practice began in 1965, when they played Hello Dolly for the Gemini VI crew. But the wake-up calls serve more than just as a fun way for mission crews to curate a playlist. They also provide a much-needed connection to something familiar while traveling through the unknown of space. Additionally, it’s a way to distinguish the days. Colin Fries, NASA historian, wrote a chronology of the wake-up calls in 2015, tracing the practice back through the decades. Some records were missing, and it’s unclear whether missions like Apollo 11 had wake calls.

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