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