Interview: 'TAN' to become first K-Pop group to send a song into deep space
Celestis, a company that conducts memorial spaceflights, is launching the first-ever deep space voyager mission from the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Jan. 8.
According to their website, Celestis is the first company to have successfully conducted Memorial Spaceflight Missions, the only company to have been selected by NASA to honor one of its scientists, and for more than two decades, an iconic pioneer and global leader of the commercial space age.
The historic Enterprise flight is humanity’s first deep-space time capsule aboard the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Vulcan rocket.
"Enterprise is a time capsule and preservation of humanity to further space exploration," said Celestis' President Colby Youngblood.
The launch, originally set for Dec. 24, was pushed back after ground leaks were discovered during their first rehearsal earlier in the month.

The capsule will contain "special manufactured and inscribed individual flight capsules containing cremated remains, a complete human genome and individual DNA samples of 168 participants," according to Youngblood. The capsule will also include the song "Walking on the Moon" by K-Pop group TAN, a group name meaning "To All Nations."
"Being that K-Pop has become a global phenomenon and music is a universal language and our missions include people and works of art from all walks of life, we felt it would be a great addition to include in our Cosmic Archive as it encapsulates what earth is like today," he explains. "We felt it would be the perfect fit to include them and their appropriately-themed song ‘Walking on The Moon’."
Youngblood says the song will be digitally uploaded to a disc on the Celestis payload along with other ‘Mindfiles’ which he explains "allow for the aspiring space lover, or really anyone in the general public from all over the world, to participate in a real-life space mission by sending messages of hope, art, photos, tributes and expressions on board Celestis’ mission. Sort of like a message in a bottle."

(THINK Entertainment)
In an exclusive interview with FOX 13 Seattle, the seven members of TAN talked about their excitement about being included in this mission.
"Out of all the amazing K-pop artists out there, for our song to be the first K-Pop song to be sent up this far into deep space, it is such an amazing honor to be a part of this mission," says member SUNGHYUK.
TAN debuted in 2022 under THINK Entertainment after being formed on the MBC survival show, ‘Extreme Debut: Wild Idol.’
Their song included in the flight, "Walking on the Moon'', was released on their 2022 EP titled, "W SERIES ‘2TAN’ (we ver)."
Explaining the song, member JOOAN says, "Walking on the Moon is a future bass genre song that expresses the feeling of being with the one you love as if you are actually walking on the moon."
Like most people, the members of TAN dreamed of space exploration when they were kids.
JISEONG says, "When I was younger, I always believed that aliens existed, but as I’ve gotten older, there is definitely a dream for us to go down different paths, not only around the world, but even outer space! Just the fact that our TAN’s song will be the only K-Pop song going on the Enterprise, I’m really happy to be a part of it."
The members are also excited for this experience to bring new eyes to the group.
Featured
'FIFTY FIFTY' Chief Producer on K-Pop group’s 9-week Billboard success
FOX 13 has kept up with K-Pop group FIFTY FIFTY since they made their first comeback with their hit song ‘Cupid’ earlier this year.
"Just as our song is soaring into deep space, I hope we, TAN, can soar just as far, and skyrocket to the moon," says JAEJUN.
While the members would love the opportunity to travel to space themselves, they’ll settle for Earth now, already thinking about their next American tour.
"If we have the opportunity, first of all, we would love to visit and perform in Seattle," says CHANGSUN. "If we do have the opportunity to visit the States again, we would love to perform the songs from this new album for everyone."
The new album he mentions is ‘Proxima,’ their latest Japanese release.
"The album we composed for our fans, embodies an alternative rock genre," explains JOOAN, "and while recording the album, I felt that it really matched our members."
While the members will not be there to see the launch in person, it will be an experience they will never forget and a history-making moment in K-Pop.
According to a press release from Celestis, "the ULA Vulcan rocket will position a lunar lander on course for its rendezvous with the Moon, and continue into a heliocentric orbit around the sun. Once the Centaur upper stage has achieved this orbit, the Enterprise Flight will be renamed ‘Enterprise Station’—humankind’s furthest outpost—where it will journey endlessly, perhaps awaiting discovery by a distant-in-time civilization."