Grace Potter has released a new single “Spacewalking Woman.” The song has been described as “a celebration of her longtime friend, NASA astronaut Jessica Meir, and their shared fascination with the intersection of science, creativity and exploration.”

The track is the result of a unique long-distance collaboration, with Potter writing from Earth and Meir contributing ideas and terminology from aboard the International Space Station.

Potter and Meir first met in 2015, when NASA invited Potter and her band to Johnson Space Center to film a music video for “Look What We’ve Become,” a single off Midnight. The singer describes herself as a “lifelong space enthusiast who had dreamed of space exploration herself,” and after meeting Meir during the visit, they formed a close friendship that has continued for more than a decade. Potter even joined Meir’s family to watch her first launch in 2019.

Meir’s latest mission–NASA’s SpaceX Crew-12 mission to the International Space Station, where she serves as commander–provided the inspiration for “Spacewalking Woman.” After watching Meir complete a spacewalk, Potter reached out to learn more about the specialized tools, terminology and acronyms used by astronauts aboard the ISS. Their conversations soon became the foundation for the song, with Potter finding inspiration in the language of space exploration.

“The beauty of having a friend who is an astronaut is that there’s a constant reminder every day that my job is extremely easy,” Potter said when announcing the single. “I’m constantly astonished by the things they’re doing up there on the International Space Station. After watching Jess spacewalk, I started asking her about some of the terminology she was using, words like ‘ratchet’ and ‘pistol grip.’ As she explained the tools and NASA acronyms to me, I realized how lyrical so much of that language was. That’s when I thought: my girl needs a hype song.”

“It started as this private hype track for my homegirl, but then my band and Jess’ crew on the ISS caught wind of it,” Potter continued. “I started thinking, maybe this is too much of a vibe to keep to ourselves. When her mission was extended, it gave us even more time to keep creating and experimenting: me down here on Earth and Jess floating up there in space. I knew I had to share it so everybody could boogie while we cheer on Jess and all the astronauts with her.”

The single arrives shortly after the release of Potter’s seventh studio album, Trespasser, which came out in August via Thirty Tigers. Potter will kick off a run of dates opening for Zac Brown Band at Knoxville, TN’s Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center on August 8.