Children about space. Tell your children about space

How to tell

Given the characteristics of childhood, it is very important to make the story simple and effective.
To do this, you can use visual experiments. We describe examples of such experiments below. Thus, it will be much easier for the child to become familiar with thematic concepts that are difficult for him. Today, parents are offered a large number of thematic materials that can also be used in their story.

Preschool children perfectly absorb information presented in a playful form, in the form of a fairy tale or poem.

And if you manage to captivate a child’s imagination, perhaps the child will not only become interested in astronomy, but also fall in love with this science.

When telling your child about space for the first time, think about the fact that maybe, as an adult, looking at the stars, he will remember your activities and smile.

Valentina Tereshkova

Pilot-cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova after landing. Still from Nikolai Makarov’s documentary “10 Years of the Space Age” (1968)

Valentina Tereshkova became not only the first woman to go into space, but also the only one to go there alone.

The then captain Tereshkova made her first flight into space on June 16, 1963 on the Vostok-6 spacecraft - she was chosen from five applicants.

“How many times have I witnessed how the impossible became possible. Hearing the last command, I gathered myself internally and tensed my muscles. Just recently I listened to my grandmother’s tales about the magic carpet, then I saw the first airplane, learned about the feat of the first cosmonaut, and now in a second I’ll fly into space myself! As K.E. once wonderfully said. Tsiolkovsky: “First comes thought, fantasy, fairy tale. Behind them comes scientific calculation. And in the end it’s the thought that crowns.” Maybe there was even a second of fear, suppressed by delight. But I remember well: even before the rocket moved, my breath was taken away and my heart was beating furiously. A soldier probably experiences something similar in his first attack.”
“The Universe is an Open Ocean,” chapter “Forty-Eight Orbits.”

She told her family that she was going to a parachute competition; they learned that Tereshkova was in space from the news on the radio. The flight lasted 2 days 22 hours 50 minutes: the ship made 45 revolutions around the Earth.

“Yuri Gagarin was right when once in the “star city,” sharing his impressions of his flight, he told us that when viewed from space, the spherical shape of the Earth is felt. He colorfully described the Earth, surrounded by a pale blue halo. Now I admired this halo, saw how it gradually darkened, became turquoise, dark blue, purple and turned into slate black. Nature did not skimp, wrapping the Earth in clothes of the richest colors, trimmed with a blue border. I thought: it would be nice to dress our girls in silks of such colors!”
“The Universe is an Open Ocean,” Chapter “Forty-Eight Orbits”

Sun

What to tell:

The sun is a large and very hot star, a huge, hot ball. It is very far away, but the heat from its rays reaches all the planets circling around it, and ours too. That's why it's warm here.

Not all stars are like the Sun. There are small stars, and medium ones, and huge ones - larger than the Sun.

The brightest among all the stars in the sky are the North Star and Sirius. The sun is much larger than our planet. If you compare them, it’s like a watermelon and a small pea.

Visual material:

To compare the size of the Sun with the size of the Earth, you can take a pumpkin or watermelon and a pea. The pea is our Earth, the pumpkin is the Sun. The Earth is as much smaller than the Sun as a pea is smaller than a pumpkin.

Stars

Stars are balls of gas that burn like big fires. They seem small to us because they are so far away that even the fastest spacecraft cannot reach them for many, many years. All the stars seem to us like small sparkling dots in the dark sky, and we can see only one star very well, and we see it every day - this is the Sun.

But it’s impossible to even reach the Sun. Even if we had a very fast spacecraft capable of flying such a distance, its temperature would not allow it to approach the Sun - the Sun is very hot.

Moon

What to tell:

The moon is a satellite of our planet; it is only three days away. The Moon moves around the Earth counterclockwise.

We see the moon only at night. The moon, as we see it in the sky, is not always the same shape. There are the following phases: new moon, crescent of the waxing moon, first quarter of the waxing moon, waxing moon, full moon and then decreasing: waning moon, quarter of the waning moon, crescent of the waning moon, new moon again.

If the sickle in the sky looks like the letter C, then the moon is “old” and waning. If we visually draw a stick and get the letter P, then the moon is growing.

These phases can be depicted for the child on paper or by cutting them out of colored cardboard.

Visual material:

To demonstrate why the moon is sometimes round and sometimes crescent-shaped, take a regular table lamp and a ball. Conduct an experiment together by creating a moon at home. Show your child that we only see the illuminated part of the ball.

PEOPLE ON THE MOON

In 1958, the first earthly vehicle, the Soviet Luna-I probe, set off for the Moon. It flew at a distance of 6 thousand kilometers from the surface of the Moon. In September of the same year, Luna 2 made a hard landing on the earth's satellite. "Luna-17" and "Luna-21" delivered self-propelled vehicles to the Moon - lunar rovers, which were controlled from the Earth by radio. Lunokhod-1 worked for 11 lunar days (10.5 Earth months) and covered about 10 kilometers on the surface of the Moon; Lunokhod-2 covered about 37 kilometers in 5 months. The Lunokhods photographed the surface, took soil samples, and studied its chemical composition.

Of course, self-propelled vehicles on the Moon are a significant achievement of science. But the man wanted more - to set foot on the surface of the Earth’s satellite. In 1962, the Americans began preparations for a manned flight to the Moon. American designers have developed the best flight trajectory to the Moon, orbiting it and returning to Earth. On December 24, 1968, the Apollo 8 spacecraft, commanded by Frank Borman, reached the orbit of the Moon and completed 10 orbits around it.

In July 1969, the Saturn 5 launch vehicle launched from the Cape Canaveral launch site, which

launched Apollo 11 into low-Earth orbit. The ship's commander was Neil Armstrong. On July 19, Apollo 11 entered lunar orbit. Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin boarded the Eagle lunar module and began their descent. At 21:00 Central European Time, the astronauts landed on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Aldrin and Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon. This was man's furthest journey in space.

There, on the Moon, on the Moon,

On a blue boulder

Moon people look, do not take their eyes off,

Text of the book “Tell children about space”

Victor Moroz Tell your children about space

Starry sky

The black velvet of the sky is embroidered with stars. A bright path runs across the sky. (R. Aldonina)

Everyone has seen the starry sky. A huge number of stars, which, at first glance, cannot be counted, the Moon, incomprehensible nebulae. The starry sky attracts and fascinates.

There is so much in the sky - nebulae, stars, constellations, planets, galaxies. Even in ancient times, while observing the night sky, people noticed that the stars are located in a certain order, and not chaotically, they can be combined into constellations.

The most ancient names are for the constellations that form the so-called zodiac. From Greek “zodiac” is translated as “circle of animals”. The Sun makes its annual journey through the constellations of the zodiac, passing through each of them in about a month, so there are exactly twelve constellations. The ancient Greeks gave names to the zodiac constellations: Pisces, Aries, Taurus, Gemini, Cancer, Leo, Virgo, Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius, Capricorn, Aquarius.

The most famous constellation is Ursa Major. But it doesn’t look like a bear, but like a ladle with a long handle. The ancient Greeks told a myth about how the god Zeus fell in love with the nymph Callisto, and his jealous wife Hera turned the girl into a bear. Zeus placed her in the sky in the form of a constellation.

In Rus' this constellation was called the Cart, the Pan and the Ladle, and the Ukrainians called it the Cart.

Next to the Big Dipper is the constellation Ursa Minor, which also looks like a ladle, only smaller. At the very end of the handle of the “bucket” the North Star sparkles.

A star is visible in the north, and it is called the Polar Star. She is a reliable friend of people, And two Ursa bears are with her Among the cosmic lights They all walk in a row. (V. Lepilov)

The Milky Way is a band that circles the sky. The ancient Eskimos considered it a snowy road, the nomads of the East - a path strewn with straw, and the Greeks - the road of the gods. In fact, the Milky Way is the millions of stars that make up our galaxy. The word “galaxy” itself is Greek and means “milk”. Astronomer William Herschel proved that the Milky Way is a cluster of stars.

MYSTERY

The blue sheet covers the whole world.
(Sky)

Sun

Bucket sun, come out from behind the bald spot, sit on a tree stump, take a walk all day.

The Sun is the closest star to Earth, but it is still so far away that even light moving at a speed of 300 thousand kilometers per second takes 8 minutes to reach us from the Sun. From Earth to the Sun – 150 million kilometers.

Without the Sun there would be no life on Earth. Everything that happens on our planet is connected with the Sun: the change of day and night, the onset of winter or summer.

People began exploring the Sun more than two thousand years ago. The Chinese were the first to discover strange dark spots on the surface of the star. The expression “even the sun has spots” has become a saying, meaning that nothing is ideal in the world.

It is not safe to observe the Sun through a telescope - you can go blind from the bright light. To reduce the glare of the Sun, astronomers used special dark glass filters. Astronomers have noticed that if a ray of sunlight is passed through a prism, it will split into the seven colors of the rainbow: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet. This may seem surprising, but the white light we see consists of precisely a combination of these colors.

Using a spectrograph instrument, scientists determined the temperature and pressure inside the Sun, as well as the chemical elements that make up its composition. The sun consists of hot gases. Its surface is heated to 6000 degrees. The temperature in the depths of the Sun reaches 15 million degrees.

What are stars? If they ask you, answer boldly: Hot gas. And add that, moreover, there is always a Nuclear Reactor - Every Star! (R. Aldonina)

Flashes and explosions often occur on the surface of the Sun, and prominence torches appear.

The Moon, revolving around our planet, sometimes finds itself exactly between the Earth and the Sun. Then a solar eclipse occurs. During a total eclipse, the solar corona and large prominences become visible.

MYSTERY

Well, which of you will answer: It’s not a fire, but it burns painfully, It’s not a lantern, but it shines brightly, And it’s not a baker, but it bakes? (Sun)

Comet

Spreading its fiery tail, the Comet rushes between the stars. - Listen, constellations, Latest news, Wonderful news, Heavenly news! Rushing at wild speeds, I was visiting the Sun. I saw the Earth in the distance and new satellites of the Earth. I was flying away from the Earth, ships were flying after me! (G. Sapgir)

Comets are considered the most mysterious objects in the Universe. Tailed stars that suddenly appeared in the night sky frightened ancient people. Comets were considered harbingers of misfortune. When the next comet approached the Sun, the most incredible disasters, epidemics and bloody wars were expected.

Astronomers have found that comets are ordinary celestial bodies, huge blocks of stone covered with a thick layer of ice. The closer the comet is to the Sun, the higher the temperature rises, and the ice begins to evaporate - a huge tail grows behind the comet, which stretches for millions of kilometers.

The most famous is Halley's Comet, which returns to the Sun every 76 years. The last time it shone in the earth's sky was in 1986. This visit was already the thirtieth in human memory. Reports of Halley's comet are lost in the mists of time. Sometimes it came so close to the Earth that it was visible even during the day, causing horror and confusion.

When in 1910 our planet was supposed to pass through the tail of Halley's Comet, many inhabitants of the Earth were seized with panic. Shelters were urgently built - people thought that the tail contained toxic substances that would poison all living things. But scientists already knew then that the tail of a comet is just a very rarefied gas, through which you can even observe stars, and particles of this gas cannot break through the dense atmosphere of the Earth.

Modern astronomers study comets using automatic probes. Spacecraft first traveled to Halley's Comet in 1986. Approaching the comet, they transmitted images of it to Earth.

MYSTERY

Not a feather, not a wing, but faster than an eagle, As soon as it releases its tail, it will fly to the stars. (Comet)

Planet Earth

There is one garden planet in this cold space. Only here the forests are noisy, calling migrating birds, only here Lily of the valley blooms in the green grass, And only here are dragonflies looking at the river in surprise.. Take care of your planet - After all, there is no other like it! (Ya. Akim)

The planets that make up the solar system revolve around the sun. The most beautiful and most interesting of the planets is our Earth. This is what the Earth looks like from space—it’s not for nothing that it’s called the “blue planet.”

Earth is the only planet in the solar system on which life exists. The Earth formed simultaneously with the other planets of the solar system about 4.5 billion years ago. Life on Earth is possible because our planet has a dense atmosphere in which oxygen is present. The atmosphere appeared on Earth billions of years ago as a result of volcanic eruptions.

If there were no atmosphere on Earth, the temperature in different parts of the planet would range from +160 to -100 degrees. No living creature could withstand such changes.

The Earth has a varied climate. The rainforests at the equator are hot and humid, while the poles are very cold.

Most of our planet (three quarters) is occupied by seas and oceans, so it would be more correct to call it the planet Ocean. The deepest point of the world's oceans is the Mariana Trench. It is located at a depth of more than 11 kilometers. And the highest mountain is Everest in the Himalayas. She fell a little short of 9 kilometers. In our country, the highest mountain is Elbrus in the North Caucasus.

At the center of the Earth is a solid metal core. Above is a layer of molten rock - the mantle. The Earth's surface consists of the earth's crust, its thickness ranges from 6 to 40 kilometers. The crust is made up of platforms that constantly move across the upper mantle. Earthquakes and volcanic eruptions often occur at plate boundaries. At the dawn of the Earth's history, when our planet had not yet cooled down enough, thousands of volcanoes erupted on it, and the layers of the earth were constantly moving. Nowadays, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes do not occur so often.

Mars

And in the darkness, Burning with a crimson light, From the depths of the cosmic ice, Mars looks - a deserted planet, a gloomy military star. (S. Zolotsev)

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun. Science fiction writers believed that intelligent beings—Martians—lived on Mars.

At the end of the 19th century, the Italian astronomer Schiaparelli discovered long straight lines on Mars, which he called canals. American astronomer Percival Lovell suggested that the Martians suffered from drought, recurring every year, and therefore dug canals from the poles to the equator. Only decades later, when powerful telescopes were built, scientists discovered that the canals are actually just chains of craters or high mountains, which at a great distance appear to be straight lines.

With the beginning of the era of space flights, automatic probes began to explore Mars. In 1962, the Soviet station “Mars-1” passed at a distance of 197 thousand kilometers from the planet. In July 1965, the American spacecraft Mariner 4 flew near Mars. He transmitted the first photographs of the surface of Mars.

In 1976, two Viking landers landed on Mars and discovered a lifeless, cold world.

...The craters and scatterings of stones were blackened menacingly, But the wild rocks were darker and more menacing! They, like peaks, crashed into the cloudless expanse. No bushes, no grass, no rivers, no lakes. (S. Baranov)

Mars has the largest mountains in the solar system. The extinct Olympus volcano has a height of 27 kilometers. It is three times higher than Everest!

Geologists believe that there used to be a lot of water on Mars. Images taken by spacecraft show long, branching valleys that look like dry river beds. Their length is tens and hundreds of kilometers. Today, scientists believe that there is no intelligent life on Mars, although it is possible that simple organisms could (or may still exist) here. Space probe studies have not yet confirmed, but have not refuted this fact either.

Jupiter

In order, all the planets can be named by any of us: One - Mercury, Two - Venus, Three - Earth, Four - Mars. Five is Jupiter, Six is Saturn, Seven is Uranus, followed by Neptune. He is the eighth in a row. And behind it, then, is the ninth planet called Pluto. (A. Hight)

Jupiter is the largest planet in the solar system. The diameter of Jupiter is 11 times larger than that of our planet. Jupiter takes 12 years to travel around the Sun.

Jupiter has been known since ancient times due to its great brightness. The ancient Greeks named it after their supreme god, the ruler of the sky Zeus (in Roman mythology - Jupiter).

For a long time, Jupiter was considered a star. In 1610, the famous medieval astronomer Galileo Galilei, after carefully observing Jupiter through a telescope, came to the conclusion that it was not a star, but a planet. Galileo noticed that Jupiter was not completely round, but flattened at the poles. The scientist also discovered four large satellites of the planet, which were later called Galilean. In the 17th century, the English astronomer Cook discovered spots on the surface of the planet, and the Italian Cassini discovered the Great Red Spot in the southern hemisphere of the planet. He could not explain the nature of this mysterious formation.

Nowadays, scientists observe Jupiter through telescopes from Earth. Spaceships are sent to the largest planet. Studies have shown that the internal structure of Jupiter is very different from Earth. The visible surface of Jupiter's disk is actually clouds consisting of methane and ammonia. At the center of the planet there is a small solid core. Spots on the surface of Jupiter are atmospheric cyclones and vortices. The Great Red Spot is the most powerful hurricane in the solar system. It has been raging for more than three hundred years. During this time, it changed its color more than once, becoming darker and lighter. The dimensions of the Great Red Spot are such that our Earth could easily fit inside it.

Saturn

Each planet has something of its own that most clearly distinguishes it. You will certainly recognize Saturn by sight - It is surrounded by a large ring. It is not continuous, it is made up of different stripes. Here's how scientists solved the question: Once upon a time, water froze there, And Saturn's rings were made of snow and ice. (R. Aldonina)

Saturn is easily recognized by its belt of bright, wide rings. It is the second largest planet, its diameter is 120 thousand kilometers. Saturn orbits the Sun every 29 years.

Saturn has been observed by people since ancient times; it is the farthest planet in the solar system that can be distinguished with the naked eye. The first person to point a telescope at it was Galileo Galilei. His telescope was low-powered and did not allow the scientist to clearly see the rings. Galileo managed to see only the disk of the planet, on both sides of which two more small disks were located - the planet seemed to have large ears. Galileo decided that these were the satellites of Saturn. It was only in 1655 that Christian Huygens, using a more powerful telescope, determined that Saturn had rings.

Astronomers have hypothesized that Saturn's rings are fragments of its satellite, torn apart by Saturn's gravity. The planet's gravity prevents the particles of the ring from reconnecting into one object.

Like Jupiter, Saturn is composed almost entirely of gas. Saturn's temperature is lower than Jupiter's, so its atmosphere doesn't appear as bright as its neighboring giant planet. Saturn has the strongest winds in the solar system. Their speed reaches almost two thousand kilometers per hour.

Saturn has many satellites, and the largest is Titan. It is the second largest moon in the solar system. It is surrounded by a dense atmosphere, which consists of nitrogen and hydrocarbons. Titan's surface has oceans filled with liquid methane. Astronomers suggest that the simplest forms of life may exist on Titan. In 2005, Titan was explored by the Cassini space probe. A lander was dropped onto the surface of Titan, which transmitted photographs of the distant planet to Earth.

Moon

Faithful companion, night decoration, Additional lighting. Of course, we must admit: The Earth would be boring without the Moon! (R. Aldonina)

The Moon is the Earth's satellite. It shines brightly in the night sky. It can be observed even with the naked eye, and with small binoculars on the surface of the Moon you can see dark extended spots that have been called maria.

Galileo was the first to discover mountains and plains on the Moon. He found that the seas were plains of a darker shade than other areas, which were called continents. There are many craters on the continents formed after the fall of meteorites.

Astronomers have given names to the lunar ridges and mountain ranges. As on Earth, they called them the Apennines, the Caucasus, and the Alps. The Ocean of Storms, Sea of Crises, Sea of Tranquility, and Sea of Rains appeared on the map of the Moon. The craters received the names of earthly scientists: Copernicus, Kepler, Tycho Brahe. Objects on the far side of the Moon photographed by space probes have received the names of modern scientists and astronauts.

There is no water or air on the moon. During the day the temperature reaches +120 degrees, at night the frost is -170 degrees.

The moon shines because the sun illuminates it. From the Earth we see it either round or in the shape of a sickle, sometimes it is not visible at all. We see only the part on which the sun's rays fall.

How did the Moon originate? There are three versions explaining the origin of our satellite. In the 19th century, astronomer George Darwin proposed that the Moon and Earth were originally one molten mass that broke into two.

Other scientists have put forward the version that the Moon was originally an asteroid that was captured by the Earth's gravity and became its satellite. Domestic scientists led by O.Yu. Schmidt in the mid-20th century developed a hypothesis that the Moon and Earth were formed from a cloud of small particles.

PUZZLES

A piece of flatbread hangs above the houses along the path. (Moon)

There's a piece of bread hanging over grandma's hut. The dog barks, but he can’t get it. (Month)

People on the Moon

In 1958, the first earthly vehicle, the Soviet probe Luna 1, set off for the Moon. It flew at a distance of 6 thousand kilometers from the surface of the Moon. In September of the same year, Luna 2 made a hard landing on the earth's satellite.

"Luna-17" and "Luna-21" delivered self-propelled vehicles to the Moon - lunar rovers, which were controlled from the Earth by radio. Lunokhod-1 worked for 11 lunar days (10.5 Earth months) and covered about 10 kilometers on the surface of the Moon; Lunokhod-2 covered about 37 kilometers in 5 months. The Lunokhods photographed the surface, took soil samples, and studied its chemical composition.

In July 1969, the Saturn 5 launch vehicle launched from the Cape Canaveral launch site, which launched Apollo 11 into low-Earth orbit. The ship's commander was Neil Armstrong. On July 19, Apollo 11 entered lunar orbit. Astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin boarded the Eagle lunar module and began their descent. At 21:00 Central European Time, the astronauts landed on the Moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Aldrin and Armstrong set foot on the surface of the Moon. This was man's furthest journey in space.

There, on the Moon, on the Moon, On the blue boulder, Lunar people look, do not take their eyes off, Like above the Moon, above the Moon, a blue ball, an earthly ball, rises and sets very beautifully! (Yu. Mikhailov)

In total, 12 astronauts in six crews visited the Moon. They brought more than 300 kilograms of lunar rock to Earth for study. In recent expeditions, astronauts traveled on the Moon in four-wheeled electric vehicles. Apollo 17 became the last manned Earth spacecraft to land on the Moon.

Ship launch

If you try really hard, If you really want to, You can rise to the sky And fly to the Sun. And seriously, not in fun, Get to know the Moon, Walk on it a little and return home again. (S. Baruzdin)

To study the stars and planets, as well as observe the Earth from space, people invented spaceships. They send them far from Earth for various scientific purposes.

A space rocket is a complex structure, the creation of which involved specialists from various professions. Some prepared the engines, others built the frame of the ship, and others worked with scientific instruments.

The spacecraft is launched into space by a launch vehicle, which consists of two or three stages. When the first stage runs out of fuel, it is discarded and the second stage engines begin to operate. Then the third. A “payload” is launched into orbit - an artificial Earth satellite, a ship with astronauts, or an orbital station.

In 1981, the American reusable spacecraft, the Columbia shuttle, made its first flight. In appearance, the shuttle resembled a large airplane with wings and a tail. The shuttle was launched into orbit by two booster rockets. Having used up the fuel, they separated from the ship at a high altitude and parachuted into the ocean. There they were caught and sent to the plant for refilling.

The shuttle landed like a regular plane. The landing strip for it was very long, lined with durable concrete slabs.

The chief designer told me: - The takeoff will not be very smooth... The heart, perhaps, will often sink into the heels... - I’ll lift the heels higher, So everything will be all right! And then during the entire flight the Heart will not leave you behind. (A. Shlygin)

Rockets are launched into orbit from special launch sites - cosmodromes. Now there are many such structures, almost every country has its own cosmodrome, there are even floating cosmodromes.

The most famous Russian cosmodrome is Baikonur, located in the Kazakh steppes. Nowadays, this is the territory of the Republic of Kazakhstan, but Russian citizens still work there and service the cosmodrome.

Space telescope

Using a space telescope, astronomers obtained photographs of extremely high resolution, inaccessible to earthly telescopes. The “visual acuity” of the Hubble telescope is such that it can see a small fly from a distance of 10 kilometers. The space telescope has helped discover thousands of new stars, galaxies and nebulae. For the first time, the surface of the huge star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion was photographed.

The results of the telescope's observations truly exceeded all possible predictions. He looked into the depths of the Universe, showed astronomers stars located at a distance of many billions of light years from us.

It would not be bad at all: Observe the orbit of Saturn, Admire the constellation Lyra, Discover black holes And certainly compose a treatise - “Explore the depths of the Universe!” (Tim Sobakin)

Today, there are dozens of different specialized telescopes in Earth orbit, each of which examines celestial objects in a special wavelength range: Copernicus, Astron, Uhuru, Einstein and many others.

In July 1999, the Columbia spacecraft launched the Chandra X-ray telescope into orbit, designed to study cosmic radiation and mysterious “black holes.”

PUZZLES

Millet is spilled onto a black scarf. The cockerel came, but it’s not easy to peck. (Sky, stars, month)

White flowers bloom in the evening and fade in the morning. (Stars)

SPACE TELESCOPE

Astronomers have always dreamed of good conditions for observing the stars. They climbed high into the mountains, where the atmosphere was cleaner, and built large telescopes to distinguish faint stars. But the best place to study the starry sky is space, where there is no atmosphere. And in 1990, the Hubble Space Telescope was launched into earth orbit. The telescope weighed 12 tons, the diameter of its mirror was 2.5 meters. Using a space telescope, astronomers obtained photographs of extremely high resolution, inaccessible to earthly telescopes. The “visual acuity” of the Hubble telescope is such that it can see a small fly from a distance of 10 kilometers. The space telescope has helped discover thousands of new stars, galaxies and nebulae. For the first time, the surface of the huge star Betelgeuse in the constellation Orion was photographed. The results of the telescope's observations truly exceeded all possible predictions. He looked into the depths of the Universe, showed astronomers stars located at a distance of many billions of light years from us. This wouldn't be bad at all:

Observe the orbit of Saturn,

Admire the constellation Lyra,

Detect black holes

And definitely compose a treatise -

"Explore the depths of the Universe!"

(Tim Sobakin)

In July 1999, the Columbia spacecraft launched the Chandra X-ray telescope into orbit, designed to study cosmic radiation and mysterious “black holes.”

Galaxy

As you know, every person has an address where he lives. The planets also have such an address. For example, the Earth “lives” in a galaxy called the Milky Way.

What is a Galaxy? It is a huge system containing many interconnected planets, stars and dust, as well as interstellar gas.

It is like a city with many houses, shops, schools and other buildings. Nobody knows how many galaxies there are, but what is certain is that there are very, very many of them.

And in this big galaxy called the Milky Way, there are separate systems (like separate streets in a city). The Earth “lives” in the solar system. It is called solar because it is around the Sun that all the planets “living” in this system revolve.

About Gagarin's task

Nobody knew how a person would behave in space; There were serious fears that, once outside of his home planet, the astronaut would go crazy from horror.

Therefore, the tasks that Gagarin was given were the simplest: he tried to eat and drink in space, made several notes in pencil, and spoke all his observations out loud so that they would be recorded on the on-board tape recorder. Out of the same fears of sudden madness, a complex system was provided for transferring the ship to manual control: the astronaut had to open the envelope and manually enter the code left there on the remote control.

Cartoons on the topic

Cartoon series “Children and Space”;
Educational cartoon “Planet Earth”;
Entertaining lessons from Sahakayants “Astronomy for the little ones”;
“The Secret of the Third Planet”;
"Dunno on the Moon";
“Monkeys in Space”;
“Pep's Pig”, episode “A Trip to the Moon”;
“Star Dogs: Belka and Strelka”;
“Belka and Strelka: Lunar Adventures”;
“Egon and Donchi”;
“The Lunar Expedition of Christopher Cullumbus”;
“Tom and Jerry: Flight to Mars”;
“The Mystery of the Red Planet”;
“Planet 51”;
“Big space adventure”;
“Planet of the Wind”;
“Let's fly to the moon”;
“Wally”;
“Treasure Planet”;
“Smeshariki: pin code collection.”

About "Vostok"

We are accustomed to the appearance of a rocket - a grandiose elongated swept structure, but all these are detachable stages that “fell off” after all the fuel was used up in them.

A capsule shaped like a cannonball, with the third stage of the engine, flew into orbit.

The total mass of the spacecraft reached 4.73 tons, the length (without antennas) was 4.4 m, and the diameter was 2.43 m. The weight of the spacecraft together with the last stage of the launch vehicle was 6.17 tons, and their length together — 7.35 m

Rocket launch and model of the Vostok spacecraft

The Soviet designers were in a hurry: there was information that the Americans planned to launch a manned spacecraft at the end of April. Therefore, it must be admitted that Vostok-1 was neither reliable nor comfortable.

During its development, they first abandoned the emergency rescue system at the start, then the soft landing system of the ship - the descent took place along a ballistic trajectory, as if the “core” capsule had actually been fired from a cannon. Such a landing occurs with enormous overloads - the cosmonaut is subject to a gravity force 8-10 times greater than what we feel on Earth, and Gagarin felt as if he weighed 10 times more!

Finally, the redundant brake system was abandoned. The latter decision was justified by the fact that when the ship was launched into a low 180-200 kilometer orbit, it would, in any case, leave it within 10 days due to natural braking on the upper layers of the atmosphere and return to earth. It was for these 10 days that the life support systems were designed.

Where to look at the stars in Moscow

Observatories

Moscow City Palace of Children and Youth Creativity

m. University, st. Kosygina, 17, cor. 1 Price: free.

Astronomical Observatory of Moscow (State Astronomical Institute named after P.K. Sternberg at Moscow State University)

Moscow, Universitetsky Prospekt, 13 Price: free.

Observatory at the Moscow Planetarium

m. Barrikadnaya, Sadovaya-Kudrinskaya, 5, building 1 Price: on weekdays 250 rubles, on weekends 300 rubles.

People's Observatory on the territory of Gorky Park

m. Gorky Park, Oktyabrskaya. Price: 200 rub.

People's Observatory on the territory of Sokolniki Park

m. Sokolniki, park territory Price: 150 rub. From Thursday to Sunday you can rent an external telescope for 50 rubles.

Efrem Levitan “For kids about stars and planets”

For children from 5 to 8 years old

The book by the famous teacher and popularizer of astronomy Efrem Levitan introduces children to the entertaining science of astronomy. The presentation of the material is mainly structured in the form of fascinating conversations between the characters: small children and their dad, who tells them stories about Gnome Knopkin, who loves astronomy and wants to share his knowledge about the Solar system, the phases of the Moon and much more. Each section of the book is accompanied by bright illustrations.

Excerpt from a book:

One day the Pope said:
— Gnome Knopkin told me very interesting news!
- Which one? - the children shouted.
— Soon you will see three planets in the sky: Venus, Mars and Jupiter.
One evening, the Pope showed the children three luminaries in the starry sky. They did not twinkle like stars, but shone with an even light: Mars was reddish, and Venus and Jupiter were bright white. They were even brighter than the stars.
- Dad, planets are not stars, so you can live on them?
“Of course,” said Papa. - After all, you live on planet Earth.
— Do people live on other planets? - Sveta asked.
“No,” answered the Pope. — In the family of the Sun, people live only on Earth.

Books for children on the theme of space

“Amazing starry sky. Atlas with stickers”, S. Andreev;
“Discovering Space”, Morton Jenkins;
“Professor Astrocat and His Journey into Space,” by Dominic Walliman and Ben Newman;
“Space”, D. Kostyukov, Z. Surova;
“Fascinating astronomy”, E. Kachur;
Series “Your first encyclopedia”, book “Wonderful Planet”, publishing house “Makhaon”;
Series “The Very First Encyclopedia”, book “Planet Earth”, publishing house “Rosman”;
“My first book about space”, K. Portsevsky, M. Lukyanov;
“Stars and planets. Encyclopedia for children”, E. Prati;
“The extraordinary adventures of Petya in space”, A. Ivanov, V. Merzlenko.

Efrem Levitan "Fairytale Universe"

For primary school age

This colorful book is intended for inquisitive children who are interested in astronomy and cosmonautics. The famous Russian teacher and author of a large number of books about space for children, Efrem Pavlovich Levitan, answers the most popular and difficult questions. The main characters of the “Fairytale Universe” - the children of Alka and Sveta - find themselves in an extraordinary world that their dad talks about. In this magical universe, the gnomes Knopkin and Nedouchkin help the children penetrate into the secrets of space.

Excerpt from a book:

“It’s very easy to remember the colors of the rainbow,” said Dad. “You just need to learn the phrase: “Every hunter wants to know where the pheasant sits.”
The children did not understand what the hunter had to do with some pheasant.
“Of course, it has nothing to do with it,” said Papa, “but is it difficult to remember these words?”
“Easy,” the children answered.
– The word “everyone” will remind you of the color red, “hunter” - of orange, “wants” - of yellow, “know” - of green, “where” - of blue, “sits” - of blue, “pheasant” - about purple.
The children understood everything and were very happy. And Sveta found a book about animals and birds and calmed down only when she found a pheasant in this book...

Alexey Leonov

Pilot-cosmonaut Alexei Leonov in outer space. 1965 Photo: TASS Photo Chronicle

After five years of special training, on March 18, 1965, two more cosmonauts went into space for more than a day - Alexey Leonov (call sign “Almaz-2”) and Pavel Belyaev (“Almaz-1”).

“There is one more name that I always remember with gratitude. This name is Sergei Pavlovich Korolev. I can talk about him very long and warmly. Our whole life on the space path is connected with this person. We stood in front of our rocket, ready to enter the elevator and ascend to our ship, Voskhod 2. There were a lot of mourners. Korolev was calm and kind. At the start, time is precious. He said just a few words: “I ask for one thing.” You, Lesha, just get out of the ship and enter the ship. May the solar wind be favorable to you."
“Solar Wind” (1977), chapter “Course - Baikonur”

During the flight, Alexey Leonov went into outer space for the first time in history.

“Here is the cosmic sky. I am the first to see space with billions of stars, not from a ship, not from a porthole, but through the light filter of a spacesuit! The hatch slowly went up, the window into space opened more and more. I watched with bated breath as the star pattern quickly changed in the dark cosmic sky. Luke froze, everything was ready to go. We are approaching the Black Sea. In the headphones I hear: - Lesha, start leaving! - Got it, I'm off! “If you call yourself an astronaut, get out into space,” I thought. It was so quiet that I could hear my heart beating. I heard the sound of my breathing.”
"Going Out into Space" (1980)

As the sports commissioners recorded, he stayed “outside the ship’s cabin in outer space conditions for 23 minutes. 41 seconds,” and outside the spacecraft - 12 minutes 9 seconds. Then followed a technically difficult return - first to the ship, and then to Earth - the cosmonauts landed not in the place calculated by experts, but in the Perm taiga. Alexey Leonov described his adventures in memoirs and books for children with his own illustrations. And in 2017 he released a colorful publication “The Time of the First. My destiny is myself...”, which was filmed.

“The first words I said, stepping into the void (I don’t remember them, but they were written down): “But the Earth is round.” But in general, space is, of course, harmony. When you look at photographs of supernova explosions, the “collapse” of galaxies, taken by the Hubble telescope, this is chaos and this is scary. And when I went into space, I saw complete color harmony. Based on the colors, I clearly divided them into the colors of Rockwell Kent and Roerich. When you move from the Sun to night it is Kent, and in the opposite direction it is Roerich. There was music too. On the dark side of the Earth, where there is no interference, I could clearly hear the sound of my breathing and my heart beating. These sounds lined up into some kind of musical narrative. You can compare it with the sound of the theremin and the electronic compositions of Vyacheslav Meshcherin.”
“Time of the first. My destiny is myself..." (2017)

Yakov Perelman "Entertaining Astronomy"

The book by the Russian scientist Yakov Perelman introduces readers to various issues of astronomy and scientific discoveries. The author unfolds before the reader a picture of the world space and the phenomena occurring in it. Most of the book is structured in the form of questions and answers (Why doesn’t the Moon fall on the Sun? Are stars visible during the day? When are we closer to the Sun: at noon or in the evening? etc.).

For children from 12 to 18 years old and for anyone interested in astronomy, including teachers.

Excerpt from a book:

“The reader will probably ask the question: if the telescope does not magnify the stars, then why is it used to observe them? A telescope is powerless to increase the apparent size of stars, but it increases their brightness, and therefore multiplies the number of stars accessible to vision (...). The telescope reveals to us double, triple and even more complex stars where the naked eye sees a single star. Star clusters, which for the naked eye merge beyond the distance into a hazy speck, and in most cases are completely invisible, scatter in the telescope field into many thousands of individual stars.”

When did the word “space” appear in the Russian language?

“Historical and Etymological Dictionary of the Modern Russian Language” by P. Ya. Chernykh reports that the word “cosmos” has come into use in the Russian language (as well as in the West) since the second quarter of the 19th century. In the dictionaries of the Russian language, “cosmos” is from 1861, while “cosmography” is from 1780, and “cosmogony”, “cosmology” and the adjective “cosmic” are from 1804.

The primary source is the Greek word kosmos, which originally meant “order”, “ordered unity”, then “world order”, “world order”. For ancient philosophy, space is the highest example of the universe. Pythagoras was the first to designate the world that exists around man as space, drawing attention to the order and harmony that reigned in it. The Greek word kosmos, of course, was already known in the ancient Russian era and was translated with the words “beauty”, “peace”, “light”.

Before the word “space” entered the Russian language in the meaning “Universe; world; space extending beyond the earth’s atmosphere,” the corresponding meaning was expressed by the words “system of the world,” “system of light,” etc.

Georgy Grechko

Cosmonauts Alexey Gubarev and Georgy Grechko (right) after the successful completion of the flight. Photo: Albert Pushkarev / TASS Photo Chronicle

Cosmonaut Georgy Grechko made several flights into space - the first in 1975 to the Salyut-4 orbital station. And in 1977–1978, together with cosmonaut Yuri Romanenko, he became the first to celebrate the New Year in orbit. For 13 years, Grechko remained the oldest person to travel in space—he was 54 years old at that time.

“What's the hardest thing? Weightlessness? Isolation from the Earth, from the family? Emergency situations? No. The most difficult thing, as on Earth, is to tell the truth!”
“Cosmonaut No. 34. From splinters to aliens”, chapter “The most difficult thing in space”

Georgy Grechko was not only an astronaut and researcher, but also a TV presenter, actor and author of several “space” books.

“On the last night before the flight, before going to bed, you just need to watch a movie. You need to calm down, distract yourself from gloomy thoughts and anxiety. When doctors advised watching a funny movie before going to bed, the choice fell on the comedy “Thirty Three” by Georgy Danelia. The guys watched it for some time before the flights. But when “White Sun of the Desert” appeared, they stopped watching “Thirty-Three.” Such bright, seemingly win-win comedies as “The Diamond Arm” and “Shirli-Myrli” did not catch on either. We watch how Sukhov walks through the desert and meets enemies, how he behaves. You know that in space you will experience overload, weightlessness, and danger, which can even be fatal. And you learn from the Red Army soldier Sukhov how to behave in a dangerous situation. Do not lose your presence of mind, you must resist to the end, and you must not lose your sense of humor. This film sets a certain line of behavior, teaches at the same time not to be too tight and not to be reckless. And we are gearing up for teamwork.”
“Cosmonaut No. 34. From the torch to the aliens”, chapter “At Salyut-4”. Signs and “White Sun of the Desert”.

Genrikh Sapgir “Star Carousel”

For preschool and primary school age

This small book is a collection of poems by the poet Genrikh Veniaminovich Sapgir, dedicated to various constellations. In the preface to “Star Carousel,” the author wrote: “And in this book you will also find poems about children who dream of flying into space. Maybe it's you or your friends. After all, it is given to you to be the first to pave routes to distant planets.” “Star Carousel” is great for children’s first acquaintance with the theme of space and a star map.

One of the poems in the collection:

In the sky - Ursa, Dogs and Taurus, In the sky - Libra, Bootes and Sagittarius, Pisces, Dolphins, Cancer and Dragon... How many constellations - So many names. Whoever manages to find them on the map will not go astray in flight.

A child is interested in space: what to show him

Are your children still one of that rare breed of kids who want to become not travel bloggers, beauty makers and merchandisers, but astronauts? Congratulations! Nowadays, interest in space is no longer so strong, but there are still guys who look at the sky with curiosity and anticipation of a miracle. It is for them that we have put together our cosmically large selection of everything, everything, everything on the theme of space.

And also for those parents who want to captivate their restless children with this topic. Or it’s simply interesting and educational to celebrate Cosmonautics Day. Three, two, one, “Let's go!”

Where to go: 9 interesting sites

Let's start with the fact that you can visit space and its surroundings without leaving your home and without making almost any effort. There are a huge number of incredibly interesting space sites, many of which are interactive.

For example, on this site you can explore the Solar System and the entire Milky Way. We zoom in, zoom out, rotate in all directions and see what this place looks like from space, the only pity is that the zoom capabilities are very limited.

You can also walk right on Mars! Or rather, look at a panorama of the red planet created from photographs from the Curiosity rover. This is one of the first panoramas with very high resolution. There is also this version from NASO, if the previous one is not enough for your little researcher.

You can go to the International Space Station - ISS. There is a live broadcast here with inclusions from inside the ISS, where you can listen to conversations between the station crew and the Mission Control Center in real time. And if you're lucky, you can see amazing and breathtaking views of cities at night from a height of 400 kilometers!

On this site you can find out how many people are currently in space (and even who exactly, and for how long). And with that, go on a virtual trip on a rocket and visually see at what altitude the satellites, planets and other celestial bodies are located.

The list of possibilities of the spacegid website is huge: listen to the sounds of Jupiter, twirl the galaxy in your hands, look at the map of the Mars rover... And in general, study the “Interactive” section, it’s very interesting.

We also strongly advise you to read the Twitter of our cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov. He writes rarely, but aptly, as they say. There are also blogs of our cosmonauts on the website of the Cosmonaut Training Center named after M.Yu. Gagarin. It was last updated a long time ago, but such details about the life of astronauts cannot be found anywhere else.

What to watch: cartoons, shows and films

For those who want to plunge deeper into the world of space, you can watch educational cartoons and films.

For kids on YouTube there are cartoons “Astronomy for the Little Ones” and “Space for Children”. Several training videos are available on the Roscosmos website. There are episodes of the program “It’s time to go into space!”, and the cartoon “Space Yura and Nyura”, and the short film “How to become an astronaut” and many other very interesting things.

BEST CARTOONS ABOUT SPACE

For those who are a little older and have been in love with space for a long time and for a long time, we suggest trying to watch two popular science series. The first of them is “Cosmos: Space and Time.” This is a series of documentary 40-minute videos about the world of space, the possibilities of interplanetary travel and observations of space processes. A lot of money, effort and time were invested in the project, so it looks simply amazing.

The second is Discovery: Through Space and Time with Morgan Freeman. As you might have guessed, it is hosted by legendary actor Morgan Freeman. He talks not only about space, but the formulation of the themes of this program can interest the child much more. For example, what should the aliens look like? Can a person exceed the speed of light? How could the universe come into being? There is even a series about zombies, but this does not apply to space.

Teenage children who want to learn something about space and the universe can watch several popular space films. For example, the same “Interstellar”, it has a rating of 12+ more because of the topics raised than because of some scary words or scenes that cannot be shown to a child. For thinking and enthusiastic children, we would lower the qualification to 10+.

Well, for those who want something more fun - “The Martian”. Here it received a rating of “16+” (international PG-13), but we know that many parents showed it to their children from the age of 12. But if you are completely afraid to show “this” to your child, at least give him the book of the same name to read, it’s even better.

And don’t forget about our films: “Time of the First” (6+) and “Salyut-7” (12+). Patriotic, documentary and with soul.

What to play: 6 board games

We have already made a selection of 9 space-themed mobile games and 9 applications for young astronomers. Over the past time, they have added a wonderful game with our favorite “Be-be-bears” - “Be-be-bears in space”. But read about it in our review, and now we’ll talk about board games.

"Memo Cosmos" . A memory game that trains your memory, but instead of children's pictures or animals there are cosmic bodies and landscapes. For children from 4 years old.

"Solar system" . An ordinary adventure game where you roll dice. But at the same time, you move not just across the field, but across the expanses of the solar system, studying it and remembering the names of the planets. Suitable for children from 4 years old.

"Aliens." Counting practice game. The player turns into a pioneering hero. Explore the planets, build space stations on them, and friendly aliens will help the astronauts settle down on the new land! For children from 6 years old.

"Chest of Knowledge: Space." Quiz game. We study planets and cosmic bodies, learn everything about endless galaxies, and most importantly, we learn and remember many new and interesting facts. For children from 8 years old.

"Space exploration". A set for experiments and experiments, of course, is not quite a game, but almost. There are parts for assembling the Solar System and the Hubble Telescope, a star map and several sets for experiments. For children from 8 years old.

"Conquerors of Space." A game where each player becomes the head of a research corps in a fictitious Space Research Center. We need to assemble a team of specialists, send a ship or satellite into space and study our solar system. Recommended for children over 10 years old.

What to read: 7 interesting books

We have already offered you a selection of books for young astronomers, but we decided to add some more wonderful children's publications to it.

“Star Carousel” (Genrikh Sapgir)

Let children's first acquaintance with space be interesting and fabulous. The book contains a map of the starry sky and amazing illustrations by Vitaly Statsinsky. Two cycles of poems, “Star Carousel” and “Cosmic Street,” will teach kids about the constellations easily and cheerfully.

“Space ABC” (Lena De Winne, Denis Trusevich)

Another book for the littlest space explorers. Non-standard illustrations that will help children learn the Russian alphabet. Interesting vocabulary and amazing facts about space and life in orbit.

"Star Tales. My first book on astronomy" (Efrem Levitan)

The main character of the book is Mashenka, an unusual girl. She is friends with the Moon and the stars, has visited the Sun and traveled throughout the solar system! Which she is happy to tell you about. The book is interactive - you can cut out the planets in it and stick them in the right places to check whether the kids remember their order correctly.

“Plasticine space. Adventures in orbit" (Elena Durova)

With the help of this book, children will be able to sculpt an entire solar system out of plasticine; instructions are included! We also sculpt UFOs, aliens, satellites, a lunar rover and, in general, space, aka plasticine!

“Space” (Dmitry Kostyukov, Zina Surkova)

This book is based on real interviews of the author with astronauts, and photographs from the archives of pilot-cosmonaut Oleg Kotov are used as illustrations. The whole history of space exploration in simple and easy language.

"Tsiolkovsky. The path to the stars" (Alexander Tkachenko)

Fun and simple, this book tells the life story of the great scientist Tsiolkovsky, who invented a rocket that opened the way to the stars for people. Very interesting facts, explanations of all complex words and amazing illustrations by Olga Gromova will win the hearts of little space lovers.

“Entertaining astronomy” (Yakov Perelman)

And, finally, a book for older children (from 12 years old). An unexpected side of ordinary things, an explanation of complex scientific discoveries in simple language (but with mathematical formulas in the margins) and a real immersion in the world of space.

Where to go: 6 space places in Moscow

And for those who live in Moscow, there are also many great places where you can go to see or listen to something on the topic of space. Almost everywhere some exciting and interesting events are planned for Cosmonautics Day.

Moscow Planetarium

Here children are welcome: the large and small star halls, the Sky Park, an observatory, the interactive museum “Lunarium”, the Urania Museum and a 4D cinema. In a playful way, children will be told about the structure of the Universe and complex cosmic phenomena.

Planetarium of the Palace of Pioneers

Another planetarium is located on Vorobyovy Gory. We admire the cosmic beauties and unique globes of Mars, Earth and the Moon. And here you can stroke the cold side of a real meteorite, see a collection of minerals from Mars and listen to the most interesting lectures on the most cosmic topics.

Museum of Cosmonautics at VDNH

8 exhibition halls, more than 93,000 exhibits, lectures, excursions and a lot of interesting things. Unique simulators for astronauts, a mini Mission Control Center and 5D virtual travel.

Observatory in Gorky Park

On April 12, the observing season at the observatory opens. So this weekend you can observe the Sun, Moon and Venus through a huge mirror-lens telescope. 841 times magnification! The stars are closer than they seem.

Interactorium "Mars-Trefo"

Full-size model of a future space station on Mars. Here you can control a model of the Mars rover, view the Martian landscapes, take interesting master classes and play in the scenery of the space station. And at the Space Academy of the center you can learn everything about the most modern professions.

Star City, museum of the cosmonaut training center named after Yu.A. Gagarin

For those who are ready to leave the capital for a while, it is best to go to Star City. Here children can see special simulators for astronauts, try space food, walk around an 18-meter centrifuge and find out answers to all their questions.

Good luck in exploring the vast expanses of space!

Even more interesting things in our group on Odnoklassniki and Vkontakte.

Interesting on the topic: What to give to a space lover? How did the Harry Potter constellation appear?

Yuri Usachev “One Day in Space”

For children from 7 to 14 years old

This book invites readers to take an exciting journey - to spend one day in space. The author of the book is cosmonaut pilot and Hero of Russia Yuri Usachev, who completed four space flights and went into outer space several times. Here he appears as an experienced guide-commander of a ship in which children are his crew. Readers feel like they are taking a trip to the space station (ISS), trying to move in zero gravity, conducting experiments, and much more.

Excerpt from a book:

“You, like most people, think that astronauts still eat by squeezing food out of tubes, like toothpaste tubes, right? Unfortunately, I must disappoint you. Space nutrition has changed a lot over the past 40 years (…). With the advent of plastic packaging, it became possible to have in the astronauts’ diet not only pureed foods, but also the same cookies, fish, and meat.”

Yuri Gagarin

First cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin on a bus on his way to the launch pad.
1961 Photo: TASS photo chronicle On April 12, 1961, the Vostok-1 spacecraft launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome. On board was senior lieutenant of the Soviet Union Yuri Gagarin. The pilot-cosmonaut with the call sign “Kedr” gave a speech before the launch.

“Dear friends, relatives and strangers, compatriots, people of all countries and continents! - I said. “In a few minutes, a mighty spaceship will take me into the distant expanses of the Universe. What can I tell you in these last minutes before the start? My whole life now seems like one beautiful moment..."
"The road to space. Notes of a USSR pilot-cosmonaut" (1961), chapter "Wednesday, April 12"

Years of training, selection, testing - and here he is in space.

“The ship entered orbit - a wide space highway. Weightlessness has set in - the same state that, as a child, I read about in the books of K.E. Tsiolkovsky. I tore myself away from the chair and hung between the ceiling and the floor of the cabin. The transition to this state happened very smoothly. When the influence of gravity began to disappear, I felt great. Everything suddenly became easier to do. All loose objects also float, and you observe them as if in a dream. And a tablet, and a pencil, and a notepad... And the drops of liquid that spilled from the hose took the form of balls, they moved freely in space and, touching the wall of the cabin, stuck to it, like dew on a flower.”
"The road to space. Notes of a USSR pilot-cosmonaut" (1961), chapter "Wednesday, April 12"

Yuri Gagarin spent 108 minutes in outer space - during this time the Vostok orbited the Earth. Gagarin’s charming smile, his hand raised in greeting and his decisive “Let’s go!” all over the world have become a symbol of humanity’s first step into the unknown.

“Well, where are you going,” they told me at the school headquarters, “Orenburg is a good city. You have a family, an apartment, your wife is studying... Why ruin your life? But I decided even earlier - to go where it is most difficult. My youth, the example of our entire Komsomol, obliged me to do this... I felt like the son of a mighty Komsomol tribe and did not consider myself entitled to seek quiet harbors and cast anchor at the first pier.”
"The road to space. Notes of a USSR pilot-cosmonaut" (1961), chapter "In the Light of the Northern Lights"