The Mars rover engineering team works on Mars time. A martian day, also called a "sol", is 40 minutes longer than an Earth day. Each martian morning as the rover wakes up they play a song related to the events of the upcoming sol. Occasionally a second or third song is played during the sol in addition to the wakeup song. This is a tradition from the manned space program. Unfortunately robotic probes are not yet capable of feeling inspiration from music, but Mission Control is.
This page lists all the songs I know about, and the explanations. The frequently-repeated phrase "touch and go" refers to deploying the arm to examine dirt or rocks (touch) followed by driving away (go).
The Spirit rover landed on Mars on January 4, 2004, sol 1. Its first morning on Mars was sol 2.
Sol | Song | Performer | notes |
---|---|---|---|
2 | Good Morning Good Morning | Beatles | |
3 | Oh What a Beautiful Mornin' | Rodgers and Hammerstein | |
4 | Hail to the Chief | Mormon Tabernacle Choir | call from President |
5 | Satisfaction | Rolling Stones | air bags not cooperating |
6 | Get Up, Stand Up | Bob Marley | starting to stand up |
7 | Da Da Da | Casaca | |
8 | Soak Up the Sun | Sheryl Crow | |
9 | I Can See Clearly Now | Jimmy Cliff | taking pictures |
10 | Unchained | Van Halen | cable cut |
Hit the Road Jack | Buster Poindexter | back up | |
Turn, Turn, Turn | Byrds | start turn | |
11 | I Get Around | Beach Boys | turning |
Round and Round | Ratt | ||
You Spin Me 'Round | Thalía | ||
12 | Born To Be Wild | Steppenwolf | egress day |
Rawhide | Riders in the Sky | egress command | |
Who Let the Dogs Out | Baja Men | egress confirmation | |
13 | Reach Out | Four Tops | first arm activity |
14 | You've Got the Magic Touch | The Platters | arm touches Mars |
15 | If You Love Somebody Set Them Free | Sting | last engineering activities |
Roam | B-52s | drive activation | |
Good Times Roll | The Cars | successful drive | |
16 | After Midnight | Eric Clapton | shift starts after midnight PST |
Trash Day | Weird Al | deleting contents of flash | |
17 | We Will Rock You | Queen | preparing for RAT of Adirondack |
18 | Sledgehammer | Peter Gabriel | Intended first RAT application |
19 | S.O.S. | Abba | attempt to regain communications |
20 | Baby, Talk to Me | Bye Bye Birdie musical | |
21 | Satellite | The Hooters | telecom requested "a rousing lullaby" |
22 | We Can Work It Out | Beatles | debugging |
23 | Start Me Up | Rolling Stones | booting in crippled mode |
24 | Flash | Queen | it's a flash problem |
25 | (You're The) Devil In Disguise | Elvis | |
With a Little Help from My Friends | Beatles | ||
26 | I Want a New Drug | Huey Lewis and The News | trying another debugging method |
27 | Anticipation | Carly Simon | did file deletes help? |
28 | On the Road Again | Willie Nelson | "Can't wait to get back on ..." |
29 | Here Comes the Sun | Beatles | Sun woke Spirit |
30 | Lean On Me | Club Nouveau | RAT placement |
31 | I Wanna Be Sedated | Ramones | preparing for brain surgery |
32 | Wipe Out | Surfari | file system reformat |
We're Not Gonna Take It | Twisted Sister | ||
33 | Back In the Saddle Again | Gene Autry | back to normal operations |
The Star Spangled Banner | Beyoncé | flag picture | |
34 | Pounded on a Rock | Bobs | RAT today |
Bump 'N' Grind | R. Kelly | "go" command to RAT | |
35 | Up Around the Bend | CCR | planned drive around lander |
36 | Stuck On You | Elvis | drive didn't work |
37 | Proud Mary | Tina Turner | first long drive |
38 | Runnin' With the Devil | Van Halen | |
39 | Hit the Road Jack | Buster Poindexter | longer drive |
40 | What a Wonderful World | Louis Armstrong | drive to Stone Council |
41 | Open Road Song | Eve 6 | driving song for a very short drive |
42 | Lift Up Every Stone | John Hiatt | observations of rock Mimi |
43 | Livin' on a Prayer | Bon Jovi | |
44 | Way Over Yonder | Carole King | heading for a distant crater |
45 | Touch Me in the Morning | Diana Ross | pre-drive in situ instrument work |
46 | Wake Up Little Susie | Everly Brothers | "generic wake-up song" |
47 | Dig Down Deep | Hot Soup | trenching complete |
48 | Working in the Coal Mine | Devo | working in newly-dug trench |
49 | Coisinha Do Pai | Beth Carvalho | |
50 | Samba De Marte | Beth Carvalho | Song about waking up Pathfinder |
51 | Chariots of Fire | Vangelis | slow motion rover races |
52 | Cold as Ice | Foreigner | northwest-facing rover woke up cold |
53 | Dust in the Wind | Kansas | hoping for dust devils |
54 | Big Rock in the Road | Pete Wernick | |
55 | Brush Your Teeth | Cathy Fink | brushing dust off of three places on a toothlike rock |
Knock Three Times | Tony Orlando and Dawn | ||
56 | Walking On Sunshine | Jump 5 | |
57 | Rock This Town | Stray Cats | |
58 | I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For | U2 | no water press conference for Spirit |
59 | One More Time | The Real McCoy | |
60 | Pictures to Prove it | The Mighty Mighty Bosstones | complex pancam mosaic |
61 | Motor Away | Guided by Voices | headed for Bonneville |
62 | My First Trip to Mars | Atticus Fault | |
63 | Anticipation | Carly Simon | almost at Bonneville |
64 | When I'm Sixty-Four | Beatles | Sol 64 |
65 | Point of Know Return | Kansas | to the edge of the crater |
66 | Livin' on the Edge | Aerosmith | |
67 | Top of the World | Carpenters | looking down on a crater |
68 | Kodachrome | Paul Simon | taking pictures |
69 | Watching the Wheels | John Lennon | |
70 | none | ||
71 | Beep, Beep | Louis Prima | dedicated to telecom et al. |
72 | Landslide | Dixie Chicks | |
73 | Rocky Road to Dublin | Paddy Reilly | St. Patrick's Sol |
74 | Does Anybody Really Know What Time It Is? | Chicago | some people on Mars time, some on Earth time |
75 | King Of The Road | Roger Miller | |
76 | Just One Look | Linda Ronstadt | |
77 | One Step Closer | The Doobie Brothers | another rock along the way |
78 | Smooth Operator | Sade | |
79 | Freeze Frame | J. Geils Band | |
80 | Open the Door | Otis Redding | APXS door stuck open |
81 | Boy from New York City | Manhattan Transfer | grinding "New York" |
82 | Shifting Sand | Caedmon's Call | lots of sand formations around |
83 | No Sleep Till Brooklyn | Beastie Boys | RAT target named Brooklyn |
84 | Hawaii Five-O (theme song) | The Ventures | |
85 | California Sun | The Ramones | return to Earth time |
86 | The Andy Griffith Theme | target Missouri | |
87 | Hold Tight | Andrews Sisters | "wild ride" down crater slope |
88 | Steppin' Out | Joe Jackson | crew on Earth time can go out Saturday night |
89 | none | distracted by Earth time? | |
90 | After Midnight | Eric Clapton | one week on Earth time |
91 | Route 66 | Chuck Berry | |
92 | I Touch Myself | Divinyls | rover examined itself with instruments |
93 | Glorious Day | Weezer | |
94 | Kodachrome | Paul Simon | |
95 | The Rover | Led Zeppelin | |
96 | none | ||
97 | Red River Blues | Jorma Kaukonen | |
98 | Where Is My Mind | The Pixies | |
99-106 | none | ||
107 | Hole in My Life | Police | at a crater |
108 | Race Against Myself | The Offspring | |
109 | Riding in My Car | Woody Guthrie | |
110 | Margaritaville | Jimmy Buffet | |
126 | Hot Rod Lincoln | Commander Cody and His Lost Planet Airmen | 123.76 meter drive last Sol -- new record |
Opportunity landed on Mars on January 25, 2004 (sol 1).
A livejournal page also has some notes on day by day activities and songs.
Sol | Song | Performer | notes |
---|---|---|---|
2 | So Happy Together | Turtles | two rovers on Mars |
3 | The Spirit Of Radio | Rush | HGA release |
4 | Another Day in Paradise | Phil Collins | |
5 | I'm Still Standing | Elton John | standup in progress |
Stand | REM | ||
6 | Lookin' Out my Back Door | CCR | |
Release Me | Elvis | release of the robotic arm | |
7 | Born To Run | Springsteen | preparing for egress |
I'm Free | The Who | cable cut | |
Going Mobile | The Who | egress | |
8 | Sittin' on the Dock of the Bay | Otis Redding | |
You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet | BTO | ||
9 | I'm Coming Out | Diana Ross | |
10 | Pictures of You | The Cure | first MI image |
11 | Is There Something I Should Know? | Duran Duran | |
12 | I'm Leaving Here | Motorhead | first drive |
12 | Ramble On | Led Zepplin | driving |
13 | Little Honda | Beach Boys | driving |
14 | Should I Stay or Should I Go | The Clash | touch and go day |
15 | The Flintstones Theme Song, End credits, Version 2 from 1962 | arrived at "bedrock" | |
16 | Slip Slidin' Away | Paul Simon | wheels slipping driving uphill |
17 | Wake Me Up Before You Go | Wham! | another touch and go |
18 | Running Down a Dream | Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers | driving |
19 | Here I Go Again | Whitesnake | repeat sol 18 |
20 | I Like Dirt | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Preparing to dig a trench |
The Pioneers of Mars | Landa and Linsley | ||
21 | Send Me on My Way | Rusted Root | driving and observing |
Desert Drive | Tangerine Dream | ||
22 | Invisible Touch | Genesis | touch (IDD deploy) |
23 | Spinning Wheel | Blood, Sweat, and Tears | digging with a wheel |
24 | Trench Town Rock | Bob Marley | post-trench IDD work |
25 | Fascination | Human League | close examination of trench |
26 | Body Movin | Beastie Boys | moving closer to El Capitan |
27 | Touch and Go | Emerson, Lake, and Powell | another touch and go |
28 | I am a Rock | Simon and Garfunkel | inspection of El Capitan |
29 | Riders on the Storm | The Doors | rain in Spain |
30 | Rock'n Me | Steve Miller | first RAT grind |
31 | Rock around the Clock | Bill Haley and His Comets | around the clock measurements |
32 | Let It Be | Beatles | |
33 | Blueberry Hill | Fats Domino | blueberry hill |
34 | Dig In | Lennie Kravitz | RATting again |
35 | I Can See Clearly Now | Jimmy Cliff | |
36 | Rock Steady | Sting | |
37 | Let's Go | The Cars | |
38 | Have You Seen the Rain? | CCR | water press conference |
39 | Bad Moon Rising | CCR | transit of Deimos |
40 | On the Road Again | Willie Nelson | special request |
41 | Surfin Safari | Beach Boys | |
42 | Break on Through to the Other Side | Doors | RAT trouble |
43 | You Can Look Look (But You Better Not Touch) | Bruce Springsteen | |
44 | Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) | Janis Joplin | re-RAT |
X-ray Eyes | KISS | APXS | |
45 | Eclipse | Pink Floyd | Phobos transit |
Meet Me Halfway | Kenny Loggins | half of 90 sols | |
46 | Berry Nice News | Raffi | target "Rubel" in depression full of blueberries |
Huckling the Berries | Country Cooking | ||
For the Rubel | John Zorn | ||
47 | No Particular Place to Go | Chuck Berry | Still in the crater... |
That's Amore | Dean Martin | "when the moon hits your eye..." (transit) | |
48 | Jaws: Main Title and First Victim | John Williams | Driving to "shark's tooth" |
49 | Fins | Jimmy Buffet | reached shark's tooth |
50 | The Dentist | Bill Cosby | drillng the tooth |
51 | Song of the South | Alabama | exploring south end of crater |
52 | Rock Lobster | B-52s | Sol 52 |
53 | Ice Cream Man | John Brim | |
54 | I Feel the Earth Move | Carole King | trenching |
55 | Climb that Hill | Tom Petty | climbing out of Eagle Crater |
56 | Fly Like an Eagle | Steve Miller Band | trying to get out of the crater |
57 | If You Don't Get it the First Time, Back Up and Try It Again | The J. B.'s & Fred Wesley | |
58 | Come On Home | Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross | |
59 | 59th Street Bridge Song | Simon and Garfunkel | waiting for batteries to recharge; sol 59 |
60 | The Circle of Life | Elton John | Lion King themed target names |
61 | I'm on a Plane | Nirvana | |
62 | The Distance | Cake | longest drive so far |
63 | Close to You | The Carpenters | |
64 | Stand (in the place where you are) | REM | anomaly |
65 | Back in the Saddle | Gene Autry | recovered from anomaly |
66 | Bounce | Bon Jovia | Bounce Rock |
67 | Changes | David Bowie | 9 IDD tool changes today |
Beep! Beep! | Louis Prima | received a beep after comm. trouble | |
68 | Got To Go Back | Van Morrison | backing up the rover |
69 | Little Maggie | Tom Adams | target Maggie |
70 | Truckin' | Grateful Dead | 100 meter drive |
Back from Mars | Aqua | end of Mars time | |
71 | Let the Good Times Roll | B. B. King | |
72 | The Wanderer | Dion and the Belmonts | |
73 | Potholes in My Lawn | De La Soul | |
74 | (What a Day for a) Daydream | Lovin' Spoonful | sleeping, waiting for busy day uploading |
75-76 | none? | ||
77 | The Ocean | Led Zeppelin | |
78 | Wait Until Tomorrow | Jimmy Hendrix | installing new flight software |
79 | Teenage Lobotomy | Ramones | new flight software |
80 | Ripple | Grateful Dead | dug a trench through a wind ripple |
81 | Go Your Own Way | Fleetwood Mac | autonomous navigation |
82 | I Would Walk 500 Miles | Less Than Jake | long drive to Fram Crater |
83 | Can't Turn You Loose | Blues Brothers | |
84 | Closer to Free | Bodeans | closer to (at) Fram Crater |
85 | Take Me Out to the Ball Game | Jack Norworth | baseball related target names |
86-88 | none | ||
89 | Low Rider | War |
ATSNN.com has a page discussing the MER songs.
This page by John Carr.
Hits since last counter reset: