Innovation in Focus: Space for Music
Music video for David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” debuts at Apollo 11 50th anniversary event.
Imagery exploring the profound connection between music and space
October 10, 2025 • By Amy Elkavich, Staff Writer
When we listen to music, our thoughts often take flight, and we’re carried on a journey that effortlessly mixes our personal experience with something outside of ourselves. Looking at the sky on a clear night, we experience something akin to the feelings that music can evoke—wonder, mystery, and connection with something more meaningful. The sky reveals to the naked eye only a small fraction of what’s really there, and yet we feel a connection with what’s beyond the things we can see. We know that there are mysteries of the universe waiting to be discovered and that humanity is a part of it.
Music, the philosopher Plato said, “gives soul to the universe, wings to the mind, and flight to the imagination.” We listen to music and feel. We look at the night sky and experience awe. This photo essay explores a profound connection between music and the universe. From astronauts playing instruments in space to musical moments inspired by the International Space Station and beyond, let’s explore the mysteries—and music—of space.
This is Ground Control
During a special Apollo 11 50th anniversary event at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, a new music video for David Bowie’s “Space Oddity” made its debut. The program, filled with space-themed performances and visuals, honored the legacy of the Moon landing by astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins—a mission that changed history on July 20, 1969.
The Anthem
In early 2023, NASANational Aeronautics and Space Administration astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson sang the national anthem ahead of the NCAA Men’s Final Four championship game at NRG Stadium in Houston. The event also introduced the Artemis II crew—Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen—who will orbit the Moon on NASA’s next crewed mission, paving the way for long-term lunar exploration.
Conducting in Space
In 2008, NASA astronaut Rex Walheim held a handrail and stretched out his arms, evoking the image of a conductor concluding a triumphant symphony. While space is silent because it is a vacuum (there’s nothing for sound waves to travel through or vibrate), perhaps someday humans will conduct a symphony on Mars.
Broadway!
Broadway performers sing during the opening ceremony of the 70th International Astronautical Congress, held on Oct. 21, 2019, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington. The ultimate backdrop? The ISSInternational Space Station.
Striking the Right Key
NASA astronaut Edward Lu at the keyboard and ESA astronaut Pedro Duque of Spain making some music on the International Space station back in 2003 during Expedition 7.
The Next Frontier
On June 1, 2018, the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., hosted a spectacular evening celebrating NASA’s 60th anniversary. The event, titled “National Symphony Orchestra Pops: Space, the Next Frontier,” blended science and art in a way that only space exploration can inspire.
Among the highlights was a special video presentation by NASA astronauts Drew Feustel and Scott Tingle, who performed a song from onboard ISS.
Out-of-This-World Duet
This photograph captured a rare moment of downtime in 2012 onboard the International Space Station, when Expedition 30 commander Dan Burbank picked up a guitar and strummed a few tunes while Anton Shkaplerov, a Russian cosmonaut and flight engineer, joined in on a musical keyboard. Their impromptu jam session took place in the Unity node, a central hub that connects various modules of the ISS.
A Little Bit Country
At the Apollo/Saturn V Center in 1999, country music artist Teresa took the stage to perform “Brave New Girls,” a song written in honor of NASA astronaut Catherine “Cady” Coleman, a mission specialist on STS-93. The performance was part of a special forum held at the center, bringing together attendees who were preparing to witness a milestone in space history.
Musical Moment
During a lighter moment onboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis in 1990, STS-36 Commander John Creighton was spotted smiling and listening to music through a headset. A tape recorder floats freely in front of him, perfectly capturing the weightless environment of the forward flight deck, where he was stationed. Just to his left, the shuttle’s front windows offered a view of the cosmos.
A Reception with a Tune
At Karaganda Airport in Kazakhstan, local musicians greeted returning space travelers with a live performance ahead of a formal welcome ceremony. The celebration honored Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev, along with Flight Engineers Paolo Nespoli and Cady Coleman, who had just completed their journey back to Earth.
The trio landed the Soyuz TMA-20 spacecraft in a remote region southeast of Zhezkazgan on May 24, 2011, after spending more than five months onboard the ISS as part of both Expedition 26 and 27.
Heartstrings
On July 20, 2019, Mark Armstrong, son of Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, performed a heartfelt song titled “Flight of Fancy” alongside his daughter at the Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. The performance was part of “Apollo 11: A 50th Anniversary,” a special program featuring music, speakers, and space-themed visuals.
The event marked 50 years since the Moon landing, celebrating the legacy of Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins, the crew behind one of humanity’s greatest achievements.
May the Force be With You
When astronaut Jessica Meir was asked what hobby-related items she brought with her to the space station, she said she brought her piccolo and played the Star Wars theme! View the entire #askNASA episode here.