To celebrate the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss II, the Vienna Tourist Board is launching an intergalactic premiere. The “Waltz into Space” mission will send Strauss’s masterpiece “The Blue Danube” into deep space.
For decades, “The Blue Danube” has been considered the unofficial “Anthem of Space,” famously immortalized in Stanley Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey”. Yet, surprisingly, this iconic Waltz by the famous Viennese composer was not included on either of the Voyager Golden Records–a collection of humanity’s greatest achievements, including a selection of 27 songs, that was sent by NASA to reach potential extraterrestrial life back in 1977.
On May 31 2025, Vienna will be setting the record straight in a campaign by agency Jung von Matt DONAU that amplifies its reputation as the city of music. In collaboration with the “Wiener Symphoniker” (Vienna Symphony Orchestra) and the European Space Agency (ESA), “The Blue Danube” Waltz will be broadcast to the farthest reaches of the universe, creating a timeless musical bridge between humanity and potential extraterrestrial life.
“The Blue Danube”, performed by the “Wiener Symphoniker” in Vienna at a special concert at Vienna’s MAK Museum on May 31, will be digitized and transmitted via the European Space Agency’s deep space communication facilities at Cebreros, Spain. The signal will continue indefinitely, traveling at the speed of light, and will surpass Voyager 1 in about 23 hours and 3 minutes.
To create awareness ahead of the mission, Jung von Matt created this humorous film that speculates on why “The Blue Danube” was not included on the Voyager Golden Records. The story revolves around the mission director (played by Adam Astill,) whose love for the famous Viennese Waltz ended up leading to disaster. The spot, directed by Bart Timmer, includes original footage from NASA documenting the launch of the Voyager spacecraft in 1977.
The film will be live from March 10 to May 2 in nine countries to announce the project. It will be accompanied by a microsite, also created by the agency, showcasing all the important information about the mission. The site will also enable people to symbolically “adopt” one of the 13.743 notes from “The Blue Danube” Waltz, linking each individual name to its journey into deep space and connecting them interactively to Vienna’s musical heritage. A series of ads, also created by Jung von Matt DONAU, will promote the note adoption.
Norbert Kettner, director of Vienna Tourist Board, commented, “As part of our mission with the European Space Agency, we are broadcasting ‘The Blue Danube’ in the direction of the spacecraft that is already moving in interstellar space–’Waltz into Space’ thus has an effect beyond our solar system and also inspires people on Earth to experience culture in Vienna,”
Stefan Bauernberger, creative Director of Jung von Matt DONAU, added, “This project is ground-breaking because it challenges the limits of creativity itself – what does it mean to perform when the audience might not even be human?”
