about

..what's happened so far:

In time for the millennium the electronica duo ORBIENT started to develop music suitable for living in the International Space Station on behalf of NASA. The tracks were released on earth in 2001 under the title “MUSIC FOR THE ISS”.

The release of the second ORBIENT album was in 2005 ...under dramatic conditions. After a routine visit of the two music producers to the station their re-entry into earth’s atmosphere went without problem. However during the flight from Kosmodrom Baikonur to Star City Moscow their transport plane disappeared from ground controls radar screen 30 minutes after take-off.....the search for wreckage found nothing. In spite of this the record company decides to release the new album (“RE-ENTRY”). But ORBIENT are filed as missing.

9 years later: A member of the staff at the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roskomos) discovers during the checking of satellite pictures a silhouette outline of the missing Antonov in the Karakum dessert of Turkmenistan, far from the assumed course of the plane... What no-one anymore could believe: Were ORBIENT alive ...in spite of many years fighting for survival they are in good mental and physical form. At the end of 2014 they release their third long player “REBOOT”.

2016... It’s time to look further afield. The manned Mars flight is now the stated aim of NASA, ESA and Roskosmos. The research areas of Space robotics & Artificial Intelligence (AI) are of the greatest importance to the mission.

How can human crews be supported on a flight lasting nearly seven months? An international team under the leadership of the German Research Center for Artificial Intelligence (DFKI) is looking for answers.

Their simulations of Mars missions are leading to an important recognition in terms of the acoustic atmosphere of the space ship: Only if the AI systems are satisfied that the crew and the music are compatible, will the mission have a chance of success. The scientists know this very well: The use of artificial intelligence in space contains certain risks.... as demonstrated by films like 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Based on their long experience with the composition of music for the use in weightless environments, the DFKI in agreement with the three Space agencies, have given ORBIENT the task to produce music for the forthcoming Mars Mission.

On 06.05.2016: “THOUGHT VECTORS”, the result of ORBIENT’s compositions important for both Man and Machine, will be released.