Viennese waltz travels into space: Donauwalker for Voyager 1 sent!

Viennese waltz travels into space: Donauwalker for Voyager 1 sent!

Wien, Österreich - On June 1, 2025, a unique event was celebrated in Vienna: The famous "Danube Walzer" by Johann Strauss was transferred to space. The Viennese symphonists played the iconic work on Saturday evening in the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK). From there, the concert was not only sent to the beach of the Danube Canal in Vienna and the New York Bryant Park, but also directly into space. Deutschlandfunk Kultur reports that an approximately 35-meter parabolic antenna in Spain has been digitized and around 25 billion kilometers away from the spatial ward 1.

Although the musical program did not pursue a scientific purpose, Vienna Tourism explained that a historical failure should be made up for with this campaign. In presumably the first mission in the interstellar area, the start of Voyager 1 in 1977, numerous music pieces of famous composers, a total of 27, were given on a gold-plated copper sound plate, but not the "Danube Walzer".

a contribution to the history

The transfer of Strauss' waltz to Voyager 1 has a deeper meaning: the "Danube Walzer" has conquered a place as an unofficial hymn of the universe and often serves astronauts as waking music. His connection to space goes back to an iconic film: director Stanley Kubrick used the waltz in his classic "2001: Odyssey in space".

The Viennese symphonists performed the work in a special atmosphere, while the European Space Agency (ESA) celebrated its 50th day of foundation on May 31. The project was realized as part of the Vienna Tourism's celebrations for the 200th birthday of Johann Strauss. The signal from Vienna to Voyager 1 takes around 23 hours for the way to space.

The trip to the unknown

Die Voyager 1, deployed since 1977, has over 25 billion kilometers from Earth and is now outside the solar system. The fate of the signal, which is now over in the vastness of space, remains uncertain. Whether other civilizations can be received depends on their technical means. t-online at the same time as a manifestation of our cultural achievements in the infinity of space can be considered.