On April 12, the whole world celebrates Aviation and Cosmonautics Day —, a memorable date dedicated to the first manned flight into space. This is a special day — day of triumph for science and all those who work in the space industry today.
As a holiday —, Cosmonautics Day — was established in the Soviet Union by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of April 9, 1962, and received international status in 1968 at a conference of the International Aviation Federation.
By the way, since 2011 it has had another name — International Day of Human Space Flight. On April 7, 2011, at a special plenary meeting of the UN General Assembly, at the initiative of Russia, official resolution № A/RES/65/271 was adopted, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the first step in the exploration of outer space. Over 60 states co-authored this resolution.
On April 12, 1961, a citizen of the Soviet Union, senior lieutenant Yu.A. Gagarin, on the «Vostok» spacecraft, made the world's first orbital flyby of the Earth, opening the era of manned space flights.
The flight, which lasted only 108 minutes, was a powerful breakthrough in space exploration. The name of Yuri Gagarin became widely known in the world, and the first cosmonaut himself received the rank of major and the title of Hero of the Soviet Union ahead of schedule.
As you know, before a person boarded the spaceship, the man’s four-legged friends were sent on the flight. In August 1960, a Soviet spacecraft with Belka and Strelka dogs on board made a daily flight returning to Earth.
The first international flight in the history of astronautics took place in the summer of 1975 — pioneers were the Soviet spacecraft «Soyuz-19» and the American spacecraft «Apollo».
Having entered the 21st century, we see the amazing successes of space technology — tens of thousands of satellites orbit the Earth, spacecraft landed on the Moon, bringing soil samples from there. Subsequently, automatic probes descended on Mars and Venus, several spacecraft left the Solar System and carry messages to Extraterrestrial Civilizations.
Therefore, in proclaiming this holiday — International Day of Human Space Flight —, the UN General Assembly expressed deep conviction « in the common interest of humanity in promoting the exploration and use of outer space, which is the heritage of all humanity, for peaceful purposes, in expanding the scope of this activity and in continuing efforts to ensure all states have the opportunity to enjoy the associated benefits».
The holiday itself was recommended to be celebrated at the international level annually on April 12 to commemorate the beginning of the space age for humanity, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology to achieving the goals of sustainable development and improving the well-being of states and peoples, as well as to ensuring the realization of their desire to preserve outer space for peaceful purposes.
Today, April 12, in honor of the holiday, various events — exhibitions, conferences, scientific, educational and educational lectures and seminars, film screenings and much more are held in different countries. Thus, in Russia, special projects are being prepared in the main Museum of Cosmonautics, many Russian educational institutions and planetariums hold exhibitions and events, public organizations organize ceremonial rallies and other events dedicated to this Day. After all, this is a common holiday connecting the past, present and future of the people of the Earth.
Since 2001, on the initiative of the American Advisory Council of Representatives of the Space Generation, on April 12, many countries around the world are holding the «Yury Night» (Yuri's Night) event, named after Yuri Gagarin. It is dedicated to two events: the first human flight into space (April 12, 1961, USSR) and the first manned flight under the «Space shuttle» program (April 12, 1981, USA). The goal of this – campaign is to increase public interest in space exploration and inspire new generations to explore outer space.
By the way, World Space Week is held annually in October, dedicated to another significant event — On October 4, 1957, the world's first artificial Earth satellite was launched into low-Earth orbit.
• Infographics – poster «April 12 — Cosmonautics Day»
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