On 12 May 2013, Commander Chris Hadfield (Canada) posted a video to YouTube of him singing a modified version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity", recorded during his last mission on board the International Space Station (ISS). The music video – the first filmed entirely in space – shows Hadfield floating around inside the ISS with his guitar, with Earth visible through the station’s cupola window.

The vocals and guitar were recorded on the ISS, while piano and other musical accompaniment were added by performers on Earth. The video was mixed with the help of the Canadian Space Agency.

The modified lyrics include references to the Soyuz capsule that returned him to Earth - after five months on the ISS as part of Expedition 35 - on 13 May 2013.

Hadfield was the first Canadian to command a space station. He amassed some 770,000 followers on Twitter during his time on the ISS for his videos and photos of Earth from space, becoming something of a celebrity in the process.

Hadfield introduced the song with the post: "With deference to the genius of David Bowie, here's Space Oddity, recorded on Station. A last glimpse of the World." In January 2014, he added: "20 million hits! I am so delighted with the worldwide reaction to science & art, together."

David Bowie tweeted "Hallo Spaceboy..." (the title of his 1996 hit single) in response to Hadfield's video.

As of 17 January 2014, Hadfield's video had amassed 20,528,366 views on YouTube