They were accompanied by a grey rabbit, 42 mice, two rats, flies and several plants and fungi. All passengers survived.
They were the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive.
2nd Oct 18 - Moscow
Elizabeth & I went our separate ways. Elizabeth went on the Metro (v fast) to visit the Tretyakov Gallery of Russian Art. I went by road (v slow) to the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics - ie the Space Park and Exhibition
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| Tretyakov Gallery of Russian Art |
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| Typical Moscow traffic. Just crawling along - mile after mile. |
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| Space Obelisk is 328ft high and coated in titanium. erected in 1964. |
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| Yuri Gagarin - First Man in Space in 1961 |
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| Valentina Tereshkova - First Woman in Space in 1963 |
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Belka
and Strelka spent a day in space aboard Sputnik 5 on 19 August 1960 before
safely returning to Earth. They were accompanied by a grey rabbit, 42 mice, two rats, flies and several plants and fungi. All passengers survived. They were the first Earth-born creatures to go into orbit and return alive. |
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| We met Laveykin Alexandra IVANOVICH who had spent 6 months on Mir in 1987 |
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| Mir. One of the many exhibits in the Space Exhibition |
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| The SpacePark is part of the Russian Exhibition Centre which began life in 1939. At the entrance is the emblematic statue 'Worker and Woman Collective Farm Worker' holding aloft a hammer and sickle. Crafted in 1937 by Vera Mukhina. |