50th Anniversary of First Human Space Flight – National Geographic Kids Blogs

National Geographic Society

On April 12, 1962, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin from the Soviet Union (now called Russia) became the first human to fly in space. He orbited around Earth in the spacecraft Vostok 1, which was entirely controlled by engineers on the ground. According to Cathleen Lewis of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, when Gagarin returned to Earth he said: “When I orbited the Earth, I saw how beautiful our planet is. We must protect and preserve this beauty and not destroy it.”

See more pictures of Gagarin on National Geographic News.

See photos of moon exploration on National Geographic Kids.

Photograph by Rolls Press/Popperfoto/Getty Images

Comments

Pinky Caine
April 18, 2011, 12:59 pm

That is a very beautiful saying! I truly love how he says we should protect and preserve this beauty.
didi88
April 28, 2011, 8:59 pm

totally agree with yuri gagarin
peckaroo
April 30, 2011, 11:02 pm

That is so amazing! I feel so happy when i hear “The first mision to the moon.”
laima
May 8, 2011, 3:55 pm

i have laernd about the moon before
i even learnd about the sun and earth

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