Music Lover is Out of This World

"If I were not a physicist, I would probably be a musician. I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music."

According to NASA's website, the honor of the first space musicians goes to Gemini 6 astronauts Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford who played the harmonica to the tune of "Jingle Bells." The harmonica is now a part of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Cady Coleman is orbiting the globe about 200 miles above the earth aboard the International Space Station. She relaxes by playing her music on her flute. You can watch her play her flutes inside the International Space Station here. Coleman gives the first musical performance from outer space.

Not only did she bring her own flute, she brought two flutes - one from the band Jethro Tull and another from the band the Chieftains. She offers a view of the earth from a part of the Space Station and I highly recommend you watching the video. Amazing views.

When she begins to play the flute it has an almost ethereal sound - remember she is playing several hundred miles above the earth. Her hair floats around her face as she lifts the flute to her lips.

The BIG EVENT is scheduled to happen on Tuesday, April 12^th, when the Station will be 250 miles above the Earth. Coleman will perform on her flute to a video link with Jethro Tull's Ian Anderson and the duet will honor the 50^th anniversary of the first manned space flight.

A similar linked duet was supposed to happen in 1986, with astronaut Ron McNair playing his saxophone along with French composer Jean-Michel Jarre. The event never happened because McNair was on board the Challenger and tragically the flight exploded on takeoff.

Coleman is an Air Force veteran and has logged more than 500 hours in space according to her bio on NASA's website. She is married and the mother of one son and hails from South Carolina.

Sources:

http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/coleman.html

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition26/flute_on_iss.html

http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2003/04sep_music/

http://www.pcworld.com/article/224494/astronaut_plays_flute_with_friendsfrom_space.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/apr/11/jethro-tull-space