Does Mars Need Britpop?

British Beagle 2 probe builders seem to think so:

In six months, the British interplanetary probe Beagle 2 will touch down on Mars and announce its arrival by playing nine digitized notes of a Blur song.

The song was previously released as “Beagle 2” on the B-side to “No Distance Left to Run” in 1999. Earlier that year, the band had got together with Colin Pillinger, the head of the space exploration project, the first European-sponsored venture of its kind.

“Colin had this great idea but no money,” says Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, “but we thought, ‘We could play the first gig on Mars!’ So we talked the project up to the point where the money was made available. Our song’s not really any major contribution to science.”

….But how will Blur be received up there? “We’re not expecting to find anything more than bacterial life on Mars,” Rowntree says, “so I imagine they’ll like heavy metal.” [Rolling Stone]

Chortle.