ESA sends the Danube Waltz into space
The ESA plans to broadcast a live performance of Johann Strauss II's Danube Waltz into space on May 31.
(Image: NASA, ESA, CSA, I. Labbe (Swinburne University of Technology), R. Bezanson (University of Pittsburgh), A. Pagan (STScI))
The European Space Agency (ESA) plans to broadcast a live performance of the Danube Waltz composed by Johann Strauss II into space on 31 May. The classical piece was used as film music in the sci-fi classic “2001: A Space Odyssey”, among others.
This year marks the 200th anniversary of the birth of Johann Strauss II and the 50th anniversary of the founding of ESA. The Vienna Symphony Orchestra and the ESA are taking these anniversaries as an opportunity to perform the Danube Waltz in celebration and send it in the direction of the Voyager 1 space probe. According to the Vienna Tourist Board, the signal with the recording will be transmitted via the ESA's deep space antennas in Spain.
Anthem of the universe
Voyager 1 was launched by NASA in 1977 and was the first man-made object to reach interstellar space in 2012. On board the probe is a data disk with messages about human culture – intended for the hypothetical case that extraterrestrial life finds the probe at some point. These messages also include some pieces of music, although not the Danube Waltz. However, the Vienna Tourist Board writes that the use of the piece in Stanley Kubrick's film “2001: A Space Odyssey” has made the Danube Waltz the “anthem of outer space”.
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You can watch the performance as a public viewing in Vienna or in New York, via stream on the YouTube or Instagram channels of the Vienna Tourist Board. At Voyager 1, the music will be over after just over 23 hours.
(dahe)
