WEBVTT - How Do Astronauts Play Music in Space?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio,

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<v Speaker 1>Hey brain Stuff, Lauren Bolga Bam here. When you're an

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<v Speaker 1>astronaut aboard the International Space Station or I S S,

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<v Speaker 1>every part of your daily routine automatically becomes interesting, whether

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<v Speaker 1>it's going to the bathroom or watching TV. That same

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<v Speaker 1>logic applies to one of human kind's oldest passions music.

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<v Speaker 1>Retired Canadian Space Agency or c S, A astronaut and

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<v Speaker 1>I s S veteran Chris Hadfield has said that when

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<v Speaker 1>you break into song in the Final Frontier, it can

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<v Speaker 1>sound a little bit nasal. He told Great Britain's five

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<v Speaker 1>News in interview, it's a little weird because you're congested.

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<v Speaker 1>Your scienus is never drained properly. Not that he let

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<v Speaker 1>that stop him. Had Field caused a musical sensation in

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<v Speaker 1>by covering David Bowie's Space Oddity on the I S S.

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<v Speaker 1>Collaborating with his Earthbound son, Hadfield put together a music

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<v Speaker 1>video filming the entire performance. The late Bowie himself described

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<v Speaker 1>it as quote possibly the most poignant version of the

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<v Speaker 1>song ever created. It even included instrumentation. Hadfield had an

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<v Speaker 1>acoustic guitar at his disposal. The instrument had been a

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<v Speaker 1>fixture on the space station since two thousand one, when

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<v Speaker 1>NASA sent it there. To give you some context, the

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<v Speaker 1>first is S segment was launched into orbit on November

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<v Speaker 1>twentieth of nineteen ninety eight, and for almost as long

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<v Speaker 1>as there's been an International Space station there have been

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<v Speaker 1>astronauts playing music on board, but the historical president goes

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<v Speaker 1>back way before that. Gemini astronauts Walter Cherra and Thomas

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<v Speaker 1>Stafford played jingle bells in space on December fifteenth of

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen sixty five, using some bells and a harmonica that

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<v Speaker 1>they had taken along for the trip. Musical instruments have

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<v Speaker 1>from the very beginning served as IOSS morale boost sters

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<v Speaker 1>as well. Before NASA's Carl Waltz made his debut on

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<v Speaker 1>the station in two thousand one, he said it would

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<v Speaker 1>be nice to take a keyboard up there. He got

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<v Speaker 1>his wish, but certain adjustments had to be made. Whenever

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<v Speaker 1>Waltz played his keys, he kept himself grounded with foot restraints. Also,

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<v Speaker 1>he had wind a bungee cord around his legs to

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<v Speaker 1>hold the instrument in place. A fellow i S S

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<v Speaker 1>a loom Katie Coleman arrived on the vessel for mission

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<v Speaker 1>with a penny whistle and three flutes in tow. One

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<v Speaker 1>was temporarily lost when an alarm sounded, forcing Coleman to

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<v Speaker 1>release the instrument mid song, but don't worry, she had

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<v Speaker 1>an easy time finding it. Later, Coleman told m I

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<v Speaker 1>t I very much like to play music with other people,

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<v Speaker 1>and I didn't happen to get assigned to a crew

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<v Speaker 1>where anybody else really played music. However, she got to

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<v Speaker 1>join Jethro toulls Ian Anderson for a Space Earth duet

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<v Speaker 1>during the spring of two thousand eleven. Each musician played

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<v Speaker 1>a segment of box Beret in e minor. Anderson recorded

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<v Speaker 1>his performance in Russia, Coleman filmed hers in low Earth orbit.

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<v Speaker 1>Footage from both was later combined and posted online. Besides

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<v Speaker 1>the instruments we've already mentioned, I s S astronauts have

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<v Speaker 1>made music with saxophones, bagpipes, and even a didgery do

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<v Speaker 1>during their flights. Of course, safety is a top priority

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<v Speaker 1>at NASA and aboard the International Space Station. Beneficial as

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<v Speaker 1>they are from a mental health perspective, instruments can't be

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<v Speaker 1>allowed to put a cruise well being at risk. NASA

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<v Speaker 1>Space Station manager Mike Pedley said in a two thousand

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<v Speaker 1>three interview, we test some of them by putting a

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<v Speaker 1>piece of the material into a closed chamber and heating

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<v Speaker 1>it to as much as a hundred and twenty greece

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<v Speaker 1>fahrenheit or forty nine degrees celsius for three days. Such

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<v Speaker 1>tests can reveal a lot about potential safety hazards. One

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<v Speaker 1>component that has to be examined is the alcohol that

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<v Speaker 1>instrument manufacturers often use as a cleaning solvent. Hedley noted

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<v Speaker 1>something like benzene is relatively toxic, and it would only

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<v Speaker 1>take a small amount to make the hardware unacceptable. That's

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<v Speaker 1>why the guitar Hatfield played was built with non flammable

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<v Speaker 1>material and lacked benzine altogether. Now we're just guessing here,

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<v Speaker 1>but since nobody likes floating debris in their workspace, Pete

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<v Speaker 1>Townsend style guitar smashing is probably a big no no.

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<v Speaker 1>On the I S S, Save That Stuff or Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode is based on the article Astronauts love to

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<v Speaker 1>Rock it Out in Space on how Stuff works dot com,

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<v Speaker 1>written by Mark Mancini. Brain Stuff is production of iHeart

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<v Speaker 1>Radio in partnership with how Stuff works dot com and

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<v Speaker 1>it is produced by Tyler Playing. Four more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my Heart Radio. Visit the iHeart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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