Abu Dhabi: ASTROBEAT – Music from Space competition, a groundbreaking collaboration between New York University Abu Dhabi (NYUAD) and the Malta College of Arts, Science, and Technology (MCAST), has seen students’ musical compositions journey into space.
The compositions now reside aboard the International Space Station (ISS), blending science and art.
Recognized by NASA and the ISS National Lab as one of the mission’s key experiments, ASTROBEAT underscores the possibilities for interdisciplinary breakthroughs in space exploration.
The project explores the intersection of art and science, demonstrating how creative expression can enrich scientific discovery.
The winning artists, NYU Steinhardt’s Summer Reid and NYUAD alumna Nadine Kabbani, composed original pieces that were broadcast from space, marking NYUAD’s ongoing commitment to space-based music initiatives and interdisciplinary collaboration.
The project is led by MCAST Senior Lecturer in Aerospace Engineering Leonardo Barilaro, with support from NYUAD Associate Professors Carlos Guedes (Music) and Matteo Marciano (Music Technology).
The compositions were recorded at NYUAD by Gazelien Records, a student-run recording label at NYUAD under the guidance of Professor Matteo Marciano.
The project was also supported by Professor Andrea Macciò, NYUAD’s Professor of Physics and Director of the Center for Astrophysics and Space Science (CASS), who initiated the scientific collaboration with MCAST’s Leonardo Barilaro.
NYUAD alumna Nadine Kabbani, a Legal Studies and Music graduate, described her composition ‘No Gravity’ as a piano-led piece with strings and synthesizers that captures the ethereal vastness of space. “The idea of drifting in an endless expanse inspired the music,” Kabbani shared, adding that seeing it streamed from space has been an “incredible honor and truly out-of-this-world experience.”
NYU Steinhardt student Summer Reid, studying Music Business, expressed her excitement about ‘Little Brooks’, her personal composition inspired by family, now reaching space. Having it streamed from the ISS through ASTROBEAT is surreal.”
ASTROBEAT is a project by MCAST, funded by Xjenza Malta through the Space Upstream Program. The opportunity to send compositions to the ISS is made possible by Nanoracks (Voyager Space) in collaboration with NASA’s US National Lab.