A titan of music and culture has passed on, and musicians will undoubtedly continue to pay tribute to David Bowie's catalog for years to come. But it will be difficult for them to match the magic of Chris Hadfield's 2013 cover of "Space Oddity" recorded aboard the International Space Station.
Bowie himself called it "possibly the most poignant version of the song ever created" at the time.
You can watch the epic music video of Hadfield's cover below. It was recorded on the eve of the Canadian astronaut's return to Earth and features him and his guitar floating in microgravity while in orbit and singing Bowie's 1969 lyrical speculations about the loneliness of space travel.
Ashes to ashes, dust to stardust. Your brilliance inspired us all. Goodbye Starman. pic.twitter.com/FbcxlAzces
— Chris Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) January 11, 2016On Monday, the day after Bowie died of cancer at age 69, Hadfield told the CBC that covering the song from space gave him a new appreciation for Bowie's creative vision.
"It really helped sort of show his...ability to envision what it was going to be like; what space flight was going to be like; what it would be like to see the world from that vantage point."
You will be missed, Ziggy Stardust. For a more eloquent remembrance, check out the Audiophiliac's tribute here.