Chandrayaan2theMoon, with funk: The ultimate playlist for space junkies

Chandrayaan 2’s launch on 15 July will mark an important day in the history of India. And if astronomy and space is your jam, I have a little something to get yourself  **prepped for Chandrayaan 2** . And how do you prepare for important days? The way I go about it is with a little groove and a little funk! And if you just did a little dance in your head, then I have just what you need: the ultimate playlist for the space junky in you. Click here for the full playlist. [caption id=“attachment_6900271” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”]  Representational Image.[/caption]

Spaceman by Harry Nilsson

While Harry Nilsson is not one of my favourite artists and I would call most of his music weird, Spaceman is a bombastic ode to an astronaut who now longs to come home.

Space Girl by the Imagined Village

On the other side of Spaceman is Space Girl by The Imagined Village. Where Spaceman longs for Earth, Space Girl is about the restlessness of the journey.

(Also read: Here are answers to all your questions about Chandrayaan 2 )

2,000 Light Years from home by Rolling Stone

Here’s another song about an interstellar journey that threatens to drown in the psychedelia of the era. Do wait till the end for a reference to Aldebaran (a red giant star about 65 light-years from the Sun in the zodiac constellation Taurus).

Teenage Spaceship by Smog

This trippy song from Smog is beautiful poetry about being a teenage spaceship, and if you have read Nicholas Fisk’s poems, it will instantly remind you of ‘Cutie Pie’.

Fly Me To The Moon by Frank Sinatra

You can’t have a playlist of space music and not have Sinatra sing about playing among the stars, and see what spring is like on Jupiter and Mars.

Space Baby by Tubes

I’d be honest, I found this one in YouTube recommendations, and the song had me at “I dig my atmosphere machine”.

Looking for Astronauts by The Nationals

If ever as a child you wished to be an astronaut, this song will have you yelling “pick me, pick me”.

Contact by Daft Punk

We are talking space and there can be no playlist complete without Daft Punk. Here’s a song that includes audio from the Apollo 17 mission, courtesy of NASA and Captain Eugene Cernan. Due to digital downloads of Random Access Memories, the song charted at number 46 on the French Singles Chart and at number 24 on the Billboard Dance/Electronic Songs chart. Give it a good listen and trust me, you will believe that there is life beyond our solar system!

Space Oddity by David Bowie

David Bowie (music legend that he is) is the brilliant mind behind one of the most legendary songs about space ever sung. Space Oddity is one of four songs of Bowie that made it to the 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll list by The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Now, this breakthrough single will be making a special comeback in honour of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo moon landing, when the iconic song was released.

And the song that made David Bowie’s iconic song more iconic - this cover by astronaut Chris Hadfield. Commander Hadfield posted his cover of the song, performed onboard the International Space Station, in 2013. It became the first-ever music video performed in space.

Click here for the full playlist. (Also read: For a deep dive on the Pragyan Rover, read this  detailed explainer. )