The International Day of Human Space Flight is celebrated annually on April 12. It is a important day for all space enthusiasts, astronomy researchers and scientists. It marks the anniversary of the first human flight to space. On April 12, 1961, Yiru Gagarin, a Soviet citizen, crewed the Vostok 1 space flight. Today marks 59 years of this historic day. The Vostok 1 space flight made one orbit around Earth over 108 minutes. This day is also celebrated as Cosmonautics Day since 1963. Vyommitra is India's First Humanoid to Go in Space on Gaganyaan, Here Are Other Robots That Have Been Created For Space Missions.

The United Nations calls it is a day "to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes." Another Black Hole? NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, Astronomers Find 'Best Evidence' for Black Hole of Elusive Class Called 'Intermediate Mass'.

This day aims to encourage more major explorations in the space for amicable purposes. There are memorial stamps depicting the human space flight. They were released on the International Day of Human Space Flight in the past. In 1981, Gagarin's historic efforts were honoured by making a statue of him in Russia's Saratov.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 12, 2020 08:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).