Ariana Grande Loves Space, So NASA Took Her to Mission Control

Singer Ariana Grande dons a NASA spacesuit during a visit to Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston on May 18, 2019.
(Image credit: Ariana Grande/Instagram)

Ariana Grande wrote an entire song about her love for space, literal and metaphorical, and this weekend, she got the ultimate space-fan tour experience, visiting NASA's Johnson Space Center on May 18.

The visit came between Grande's May 17 show in San Antonio and her May 19 show in Houston. During her visit, she toured mission control and wore a spacesuit.

"My mind is still processing and devouring every second of what just happened, but I can't wait to share more," she wrote in an Instagram story about the tour, Teen Vogue reported. "What a special day and experience. Thank you so … much for your generosity and for showing my friends n I around."

Singer Ariana Grande toured NASA's Johnson Space Center this weekend, making a stop by mission control. (Image credit: NASA)

The visit also prompted rumors that the singer was using the visit to film a new music video. That video would presumably be for her song "NASA," which Grande released in February on her album "thank u, next." The song begins with a remastered version of Neil Armstrong's famous line about setting foot on the moon and includes space-related lyrics such as "It's like I'm the universe and you'll be N-A-S-A" and "You know I'm a star/ Space, I'ma need space."

The pop star has a history of enthusiasm for space and NASA. She's been spotted wearing a sweatshirt with the agency's logo on it, and last year she tweeted about how beautiful she found a Juno spacecraft image of Jupiter — only to realize Neptune is also pretty photogenic. Photographs of Grande's current tour, which includes songs from "thank u, next," show the moon prominently featured in her set design. 

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Meghan Bartels
Senior Writer

Meghan is a senior writer at Space.com and has more than five years' experience as a science journalist based in New York City. She joined Space.com in July 2018, with previous writing published in outlets including Newsweek and Audubon. Meghan earned an MA in science journalism from New York University and a BA in classics from Georgetown University, and in her free time she enjoys reading and visiting museums. Follow her on Twitter at @meghanbartels.