Yuri’s Night Is Here!

~2 min

Let’s celebrate humanity's past, present, and future achievements in space exploration.

About Yuri’s Night

Yuri’s Night, also called the "World Space Party", is a global celebration that commemorates human space exploration. It is held every April 12 and is named after the first person to journey into outer space on April 12, 1961 – Yuri Gagarin. Yuri’s Night also honors the launch of the first Space Shuttle mission, STS-1, on April 12, 1981.

On April 12, 1961, aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, Soviet Air Forces pilot and cosmonaut Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin became the first human to launch into space. During his flight, which lasted 108 minutes, Gagarin also became the first man to orbit the Earth. His space capsule accomplished this feat in 89 minutes. Upon Yuri’s return to Earth, he became an international hero. Even today, Yuri Gagarin is widely honored all over the world.

History

The idea of Yuri’s Night was first created in 2000 by an astrobiologist Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides and the President of the spaceflight company Virgin Galactic George Thomas Whitesides. They organized the first celebration of Yuri’s Night on April 12, 2001, to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Gagarin’s flight. Since 2001, Yuri’s Night has become a widely known and celebrated official international festival.

April 12 has been celebrated in Russia as Cosmonautics Day since 1962 and as the International Day of Human Space Flight since 2011 internationally.

Mission

The celebration of Yuri’s Night combines a variety of educational events and activities. They are all aimed at increasing public interest in humanity's achievements in space exploration, inspiring young people and developing a new generation of explorers.

Although not everyone can fly to space, everyone can explore the sky and unravel its mysteries from Earth. The easiest way to do it is to use the astronomical app Star Walk 2. To celebrate Yuri’s Night, we offer a big discount on the ‘All-in-One Bundle’ in the free Star Walk 2 app for iOS and Android. This bundle removes ads and unlocks all additional content. Enjoy amazing constellations in 3D, deep sky objects, extended Solar system, satellites, planets and space cartoons. The ‘All-in-One Bundle’ is available at the lowest price until April 15, 2020.

Now is the time to deepen your knowledge of our Universe and the sky above. Self-quarantine is not a hindrance – with Star Walk 2, you can explore the sky from anywhere and at any time.

Enjoy!

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