Musical Space Race: ESA 'Blue Danube' overtakes NASA Voyager

In 1977, when the US government agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched the Voyager Golden Records – a curated portrait of Earth in sounds, images and 27 songs – Johann Strauss II’s 'Blue Danube' waltz, arguably the most celestial composition ever written, was absent from the collection. This light-touch ad showcases how the widely recognised and much-loved waltz has now been performed live by the Wiener Symphoniker (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) and sent into deep space by the European Space Agency (ESA), thanks to the Vienna Tourist Board. The event was transmitted via the Deep Space Antenna 2, one of the most advanced communication instruments on Earth – travelling at the speed of light into deep Space. In just 23 hours and three minutes, it overtook NASA’s Voyager 1, making 'The Blue Danube' the furthest-travelled waltz in human history. Audiences from around the globe joined the mission via livestream, as well as at live-viewing events in Madrid, New York, Cebreros and Vienna. The 'cultural correction' comes in the year marking the 200th anniversary of the birth of Strauss, the Austrian maestro of light music who composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas and a ballet. The Austrian capital Board reminds us elswhere: "Huge spaceships floating through the galaxy to the three-four time of the Viennese waltz – this iconic scene was created by Stanley Kubrick in his movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. The harmony between the weightlessness of space and the lightness of Johann Strauss's waltz The Blue Danube made film history and even inspired real space travel. In the short documentary Space Anthem, eight experts from the fields of music, film and space travel explain how the Viennese waltz went on to conquer the entire universe. This is a must-watch for fans of 2001: A Space Odyssey, Kubrick, Johann Strauss II and Space".

Keywords: Vienna Tourist Board Mission Accomplished, Blue Danube waltz in Space, extraterrestrial life, Space activities, humans and Space, Jung von Matt DONAU