It's Yuri's Night - April 12

[LongTomH]

Since 2004, April 12 has been celebrated worldwide as Yuri's Night to celebrate human achievements in space. April 12 is the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's historic Vostok 1 flight on April 12, 1961; it's also the anniversary of the first flight of the Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981. From the Wikipedia entry on Yuri's Night:

The goal of Yuri's Night is to increase public interest in space exploration and to inspire a new generation of explorers. Driven by space-inspired artistic expression and culminating in a worldwide network of annual celebrations and educational events, Yuri's Night creates a global community of young people committed to shaping the future of space exploration while developing responsible leaders and innovators with a global perspective. These global events are a showcase for elements of culture that embrace space including music, dance, fashion, and art

Yuri's Night was created by Loretta Hidalgo, George T. Whitesides and Trish Garner. The first Yuri's Night was held on April 12, 2001, on the 40th anniversary of human spaceflight. This global celebration was preceded by Cosmonautics Day , which was established in the Soviet Union in 1962.

For more information on Yuri's Night and to find a Yuri's Night celebration, go to the official Yuri's Night website.



Edited to add: Yuri's Night has a Facebook page. Go there for more information on Col. Chris Hadfield's greetings from the International Space Station and from the Curiosity rover in Mars Gale Crater.