• Strauss' "Blue Danube" will be transmitted into space on May 31, 2025.
• The performance will be livestreamed in Vienna, Madrid, and New York.
• This event marks both Strauss' 200th birthday and the ESA's 50th anniversary.
• The signals will reach past the moon in just 1.5 seconds.
• The act aims to correct a previous oversight in music selections for deep space transmission.

Strauss’ "Blue Danube" is set to be beamed into space this May to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the waltz king's birth. The performance by the Vienna Symphony Orchestra will be livestreamed on May 31, with public screenings organized in Vienna, Madrid, and New York, marking not only the birthday but also the European Space Agency's 50th anniversary, according to CBS News and India Times.

The launch will utilize pre-recorded signals from the orchestra’s rehearsal the day prior to prevent any technical difficulties during the live performance. The radio signals will travel at the speed of light, or about 670 million mph, reaching the Moon in approximately 1.5 seconds and Mars in 4.5 minutes, according to South China Morning Post and Los Angeles Times.

The event also highlights Strauss' historical significance as "The Blue Danube" was previously overlooked for the Voyager Golden Records, which were launched in 1977 and carry pieces from Bach, Beethoven, and more. “The Blue Danube” has been part of cinematic history, featured in Stanley Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey," making its upcoming space transmission a means of correcting this "cosmic mistake," as noted by CBS News and Los Angeles Times.

The European Space Agency (ESA) will be facilitating this mission using a large radio antenna in Spain, transmitting the waltz to an area directed towards Voyager 1. ESA's director general, Josef Aschbacher, stated, “Music connects us all through time and space in a very particular way,” reflecting the unifying power of music beyond our planet, according to India Times and South China Morning Post.