The Cosmonautics Day is celebrated on April 12 in dedication of the first manned flight into space. In anticipation of this date it is most important to recall world’s major achievements in the field of space research, as well as the special role of Russia and the USSR in the conquest of Earth orbits and interplanetary exploration. At the Museum of Cosmonautics, international students of MSU refreshed their memories of the main milestones in the history of space exploration, and also learned a bunch of new and interesting facts!
The excursion program began in the conference hall of the Museum, where students listened to the lecture “Chapters of the Baikonur History. The past, present and future of Space Harbor”, organized by the MSU School of Young Space Explorer. The lecture was given by Igor V. Saratsev, who earlier served at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, and now is a lieutenant colonel in reserve and an assistant professor at the Military Training Center at Lomonosov Moscow State University. Igor Saratsev knows firsthand how life in Baikonur goes on, and gladly gave students a glimpse into the work of this immense research and testing complex, which is now an international space port.
After that, the students visited a short tour of the Museum of Cosmonautics, where they were able to fully immerse themselves into the atmosphere of cosmic flights, tracing back the history of all major spacecraft launches starting from the famous Sputnik-1 in 1957. What will remain especially memorable is the fact that students managed to see with their own eyes the real exhibits of space suits and space equipment that came from the space station and now are presented in this museum. The model of the “Mir” orbital station impressed both students and those accompanying them, as they could walk along one of its modules!
At the end of the excursion, the students visited the Museum's cinema hall, where they were shown a small but inspiring film-instruction “How to become an astronaut”, and even made a wish in one of the secret places of the Museum! The weather of lovely Moscow was also surprising: when students went outside, they discovered that during their stay at the Museum the city had turned into a real winter fairy tale. Everything around – the ground and the trees – was covered with an unexpected April snowfall. The nature of our planet Earth is truly amazing!