A Missy Elliott Song Travels to Venus at the Speed of Light

Missy Elliott has broken lots of boundaries, but until recently they were all Earth-based.

Last week, giant radio towers transmitted her song “The Rain (Supa Dupa Fly)” to Venus for the benefit of whatever life-forms might have been around, or not, to listen.

The July 12 transmission, announced by NASA on Monday, was made at the speed of light by a 112-foot-wide radio dish near Barstow, Calif. It took the song 14 minutes to travel 158 million miles to Venus, Elliott’s favorite planet.

“My song ‘The Rain’ has officially been transmitted all the way to Venus, the planet that symbolizes strength, beauty and empowerment,” she wrote on social media. “The sky is not the limit, it’s just the beginning.”

As Elliott bantered with social media users on Monday, she uploaded pictures of planets, GIFs of dancing aliens and videos from her latest tour, “Out of This World.”

“The Rain” was transmitted to Venus through the Deep Space Network, a NASA system that helps the agency communicate with its far-flung spacecraft. In addition to the site in California, the network has some in Australia and Spain, each 120 degrees longitude apart. That way spacecraft can stay in touch even as the planet rotates.