OtterKnow Kids EncyclopediaThe first trip to space happened on April 12, 1961! A Russian cosmonaut named Yuri Gagarin became the very first person to travel into space. His brave journey showed everyone that humans could travel beyond Earth.
Yuri Gagarin blasted off in a spacecraft called Vostok 1. He flew all the way around Earth one time, which took 108 minutes. He looked out the window and saw Earth from space for the first time ever. When he came back to Earth, he parachuted down and landed safely in a field. He became a hero around the world!
- Gagarin was only 27 years old when he went to space.
- Before Gagarin, scientists sent a dog named Laika into space to see if living things could survive up there.
- Yuri Gagarin’s famous words from space were about how beautiful Earth looked from above!
