Strauss' 'Blue Danube' Launches into Space

The European Space Agency (ESA) is preparing to send Johann Strauss' famous waltz 'The Blue Danube' into space. This unique event is planned for May 31st to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the composer's birth and ESA's 50th anniversary.

The Vienna Symphony Orchestra will perform the piece, which will be beamed into space using ESA's deep-space network in Spain. The radio signals carrying the music will travel at the speed of light, covering vast distances in space. Within 23 hours, the music will have traveled as far as Voyager 1, currently the most distant human-made object from Earth.

This cosmic concert is not just a celebration of music and space exploration. It's also seen as a correction of a 'cosmic mistake' - the omission of Strauss' work from the Voyager Golden Records, which were sent into space in 1977 as a representation of Earth's sounds and music.