Cosmonautics Day is April 12

Courtesy of STAR 

It's a national holiday--in Russia. The United States will forever hold a national grudge that another country beat us into space. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Russian cosmonaut, was launched into space and spent nearly two hours circling Earth. Never fear, though, because soon after the U.S. took the lead in the space race!

Since 1961, many advances have been made in the race to space and in space programs. For an overview of the U.S. space program, visit NASA then head over to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum for a virtual tour. Want to explore some of NASA's myths about its space program? Read the article that debunks ten myths about the U.S space program.


Celebrate Cosmonautics Day by studying and writing about space history with:

There's so much to learn about the U.S. Space Program; click here to get the full comic book and activities about the Columbia Shuttle Disaster.

Even though Cosmonautics Day is not celebrated in the United States, it's a great time to learn about the U.S. Space Program!