A NASA mission to build a long-term presence on the moon will start with a Philadelphia Orchestra performance

The orchestra’s pre-recorded performance of “America the Beautiful” will be part of a rocket launch event in Florida on Monday.

Yannick Nézet-Séguin, the Philadelphia Orchestra perform Beethoven Symphony No. 9 at the Kimmel Center in June.Read moreJESSICA GRIFFIN / Staff Photographer

by Michaelle Bond

Published Aug. 27, 2022, 5:19 p.m. ET

NASA plans to make history Monday with a mission that will set the stage for deep space exploration. And the Philadelphia Orchestra will help kick it off.

NASA will include the orchestra’s prerecorded performance of “America the Beautiful” in a rocket launch event to mark the first integrated test of the agency’s deep space exploration systems. According to NASA, the Artemis I mission “will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration, and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human existence to the moon and beyond.”

The performance by the orchestra, led by music director Yannick Nézet-Séguin and featuring cellist Yo-Yo Ma, will air at 6:38 a.m. Monday, according to orchestra officials. NASA’s launch event also will include a performance of “The Star-Spangled Banner” by Josh Groban and Herbie Hancock and appearances by celebrities Keke Palmer, Chris Evans, and Jack Black.

NASA will air the event on its digital platforms, including nasa.gov, NASA TV, and its social media accounts. The rocket is scheduled to launch sometime between 8:33 and 10:33 a.m.

The Philadelphia Orchestra, which is on tour in Europe, made its recording on Oct. 5, 2021, in Verizon Hall at the Kimmel Center. The orchestra’s Twitter account tweeted “we are thrilled to participate” in the launch, which will occur at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The six-week, crew-less Artemis I flight test is part of preparations for the Artemis II mission, in which a flight crew will lap the moon. Artemis I “will be the first in a series of increasingly complex missions to build a long-term human presence at the moon for decades to come,” according to NASA. Astronauts will prepare for missions on the surface of the moon and beyond, including Mars.

During the Artemis I mission, the Orion spacecraft will fly farther than any other spacecraft built for humans.