Do your aspiring astronauts and cosmonauts know who Yuri Gagarin is?
For us and our kids, growing up to be an astronaut was/is a very real possibility . (Provided one had all the math/physics/flying smarts and dedication.) But go back one generation, and space travel wasn’t much more than a dream until Yuri Gagarin made that first space journey 50 years ago. Everyone can quote Neil Armstrong, but what do we know about Russian Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin? He orbited the Earth on April 12, 1961, so this Tuesday will be the 50th anniversary of the first space journey. Here’s some info:
1. According to this book, Yuri Gagarin started dreaming about and planning his trip into space while he was still a kid. Before anyone had been in space. Follow your dreams, kids!
2. Fellow Cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky said that Gagarin was a good hockey player.
