Music by a Malta-based pianist will be streamed from space this afternoon in what will mark the realisation of a life-long dream.

Leonardo Barilaro, an Italian Mcast lecturer and aerospace engineer had long hoped he would one day be able to play music in space.

Dubbed by friends as Malta’s ‘Space Pianist’, he will at 4pm witness his music being streamed from the International Space Station as the station passes over Malta. 

“When I was 13 years old I decided I would be a pianist and an aerospace engineer to play in space,” he told Times of Malta. 

An exciting day for Leonardo Barilaro. Photo: Lorenzo Olivieri

“This is my first real step as the space pianist’. My next step is to play in the low earth orbit, the moon, and my final stage, playing on Mars."

The 'out of this world' concert can be watched live here. 

The music will be Barilaro's symphony ‘Maleth,’ named after the local bioscience experiment, Maleth II, which was launched in space back in July. 

The experiment is a follow-up to Project Maleth, the first of its kind run by Maltese researchers, which was launched into space in August last year. 

The project, led by associate professor of biomedical science at the University of Malta Joseph Borg, and his team, have taken samples of microorganisms that cause diabetic ulcers and send them to the International Space Station. 

The space project is intended to pave the way for improving precision-based medicine when treating diabetic foot ulcers. 

The SpaceX rocket which carried the human cells to space also carried an SD card with Barilaro's composition.

The music will be accessed from the mission control room managed by Arkafort Ltd in Qormi, and broadcast from space. 

It also carries a data card that includes several artworks and photos by Rebecca (Becs) Zammit Lupi, who passed away in January last year, aged 15. 

The biocube containing tissue samples for Maleth II and Barilaro's symphony. Photo: courtesy of Joseph Borg

Barilaro is also releasing a song every day throughout 2022, and more information on his music and projects can be found here.