Music & Books
Do astronauts listen to music or read books in space?
Look at the picture to the left. What objects are featured? Taken on the Apollo 11 trip to provide the astronauts with music to entertain them, these cassette tapes could also be recorded over for mission notes. Albums and songs listened to during the Apollo 11 voyage include Music Out of the Moon: Music Unusual Featuring the Theremin by Sun Ra, "Fly Me to the Moon" by Frank Sinatra, and "Mother Country" by John Stewart.
Look to the picture on the left. Have you ever seen this before? How is it similar to and different from the objects shown in the picture above?
This CD Player was used in 1998 on STS-95 and STS-88, which was the first flight to begin putting together the International Space Station. To learn more about STS-88, visit this page on the NASA website. Watch the video below to learn more about putting the International Space Station together!
Since the CD Player, astronauts have taken iPods with them into space.
Do astronauts take musical instruments into space?
Watch the video below to answer this question. After listening, what song was played during the Gemini 6 mission by the two musical instruments shown below?
Astronauts continue to play musical instruments in space today. Watch the video below and read this NASA article to learn more!
What else can astronauts take into space today?
Watch the video below to learn more about different things astronauts can take into space with them!
As mentioned in the video, astronauts can also take books into space with them. The book featured on the left, Black Wings: The American Black in Aviation, was taken on the STS-8 mission by Guion S. Bluford, Jr. Bluford was the first African American to go into space.
To learn more about the STS-8 mission, visit the NASA mission page
To learn more about Guion S. Bluford, Jr. read this article.