Astronaut Michael López-Alegría’s latest mission is out of this world.In what marked the very first time an astronaut in orbit has performed a duet with a musician back down on Earth, López-Alegría teamed up with pianist BLKBOK for a moving performance of the artist’s song “STARS (AD ASTRA).“Afterward, BLKBOK—who was behind the keys in Florida, where he’d watched López-Alegría take off—performed, fittingly,Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” which he dedicated to the astronaut, 63.“I’m a better astronaut than musician, that’s for darn sure,” López-Alegría joked before hitting the keyboard for their joint performance.López-Alegría explained that as he played, he was somewhere over planet Earth, but wasn’t exactly sure where.“The feeling of the ride going uphill, as they say, was… rather smooth, a lot of acceleration,” he explained of his journey. “Different from the shuttle, which has a lot of rumbling… Views out the window never get old.“RELATED VIDEO: NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur Reflects on ‘Incredible’ First Month (of Six!) on ISS: ‘It’s Fun’The idea for a half-on-Earth, half-in-orbit performance came about from both BLKBOK and López-Alegría as a way to “encourage a dialogue about music and education in general, and to highlight the importance of STEAM as an educational discipline.“The two have worked together in the past; when López-Alegría was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame last year, BLKBOK was on hand to perform “STARS (AD ASTRA),” which he also performed during National Astronaut Day in 2021.BLKBOK released his debut albumBlack Booklast year, while López-Alegría is the Chief Astronaut for Axiom Space, and Commander of the Ax-1 mission. He’s flown to space four times, and holds NASA’s record for most space walks, with 10.

Astronaut Michael López-Alegría’s latest mission is out of this world.

In what marked the very first time an astronaut in orbit has performed a duet with a musician back down on Earth, López-Alegría teamed up with pianist BLKBOK for a moving performance of the artist’s song “STARS (AD ASTRA).”

Afterward, BLKBOK—who was behind the keys in Florida, where he’d watched López-Alegría take off—performed, fittingly,Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” which he dedicated to the astronaut, 63.

“I’m a better astronaut than musician, that’s for darn sure,” López-Alegría joked before hitting the keyboard for their joint performance.

López-Alegría explained that as he played, he was somewhere over planet Earth, but wasn’t exactly sure where.

“The feeling of the ride going uphill, as they say, was… rather smooth, a lot of acceleration,” he explained of his journey. “Different from the shuttle, which has a lot of rumbling… Views out the window never get old.”

RELATED VIDEO: NASA Astronaut Megan McArthur Reflects on ‘Incredible’ First Month (of Six!) on ISS: ‘It’s Fun’

The idea for a half-on-Earth, half-in-orbit performance came about from both BLKBOK and López-Alegría as a way to “encourage a dialogue about music and education in general, and to highlight the importance of STEAM as an educational discipline.”

The two have worked together in the past; when López-Alegría was inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame last year, BLKBOK was on hand to perform “STARS (AD ASTRA),” which he also performed during National Astronaut Day in 2021.

BLKBOK released his debut albumBlack Booklast year, while López-Alegría is the Chief Astronaut for Axiom Space, and Commander of the Ax-1 mission. He’s flown to space four times, and holds NASA’s record for most space walks, with 10.

source: people.com