NASA plans on beaming The Beatles Across the Universe into space making it the first song to be used in such a way. The transmission of the song will mark the 40th anniversary of the song’s recording. It will be aimed at the North Star, Polaris, 431 light years away from Earth, and it will travel across the universe at a speed of 186,000 miles per second. This will also mark 50 years of NASA, 45 years of the Deep Space Network and 50 years since the founding of Explorer 1, the first US satellite.
“Amazing! Well done, Nasa! Send my love to the aliens.” was Sir Paul McCartney’s reaction to the news.
Fans can participate in the event by playing the song around the world at midnight GMT on Monday night – the same time it will be transmitted by NASA. Still no word yet on when we might see the mysterious “Yellow Submarine” branded iPod. Perhaps the little green men can help Steve Jobs with that.