A Play List for Astronauts

If you were an astronaut, zipping around Earth at an altitude of 400 kilometers (250 miles), what music would you like to listen to?

How about Monty Python's "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life," for an unfailing morale boost? Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Bad Moon Rising" for a touch of celestial rockabilly? Or the Rolling Stones' "2,000 Light Years from Home" for occasional consolation that someone else has felt as alienated as you?

The European Space Agency (ESA) on Wednesday unveiled a competition to find a set of 10 tunes that will be quite literally out of this world.

Youngsters are being invited to suggest a play list of 10 songs that will entertain, support or inspire the crew of the International Space Station (ISS). Any kind of song can be suggested.

Musical launch

The tunes will be downloaded onto an iPod and sent to the ISS aboard ESA's robot space truck, the Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), which is designed to bring food, water, air and other supplies to mankind's orbital outpost.

The grand prize is a trip to see the ATV's maiden launch in Kourou, French Guiana, later this year.

The competition is open to youngsters under 18 who are nationals of countries taking part in the ATV programme (Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain,
Sweden, Switzerland).

We want to know which songs you would send, even if you’re over 18 and not from the above listed countries. Click on the link at the bottom of the page to send us an email.

Here's the playlist that DW-WORLD.DE would send:

• Space Oddity – David Bowie
• Rocket Man – Elton John
• Mr. Spaceman – The Byrds
• Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft - The Carpenters
• Walking on the Moon – The Police
• Atmosphere – Joy Division
• Across the Universe – The Beatles
• Spacelab – Kraftwerk
• Set the Controls for the Heart of the Sun – Pink Floyd
• The Great Beyond - REM