NASA Beaming the Beatles into Deep Space

Not the band itself, mind you, but its 40-year-old classic "Across the Universe." Destination? The North Star, a.k.a. Polaris, a mere 2.5 quadrillion miles away. 

The AP (via Yahoo! News) reports that the transmission (slated for this coming Monday at 7 p.m. EST) marks the first time that NASA has beamed a song into space. What's the special occasion, you ask? It's the 40th anniversary of the song, the 45th anniversary of the space agency's Deep Space Network (the E.T.-seeking array of antennas that'll be used to beam the song), and the 50th anniversary of NASA itself.

Of course, it'll take the song 431 years to travel (at the speed of light, mind you) from here to the distant star, and any nearby extraterrestrials will need an antenna and a receiver to hear the tune, the AP points out.

NASA reports that Paul McCartney gave the transmission his thumbs-up: "Send my love to the aliens," Sir Paul said.

The RIAA has yet to weigh in on whether NASA's beaming of "Across the Universe" into space is an act of intended piracy, or whether the Deep Space Network counts as a giant P2P server. Indeed, any residents of the Polaris system would be well advised to use the song for their own personal use, or face the consequences.

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NASA launching Beatles tune into space [AP]