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Known as the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (Мемориальный музей космонавтики), the Moscow cosmonaut museum has artifacts from the history of space exploration.
The museum is a must-do for anyone interested in space. It has spacesuits and artifacts from the entire history of space exploration, including a replica of part of the Mir Space Station. It even has Belka and Strelka, the second and third dogs in space. Sadly, Laika, the first dog in space, did not return.
Monument to the Conquerors of Space
When you exit the VDNKh (Вднх) Metro Station, it’s hard to miss the impressive Monument to the Conquerors of Space. Erected in 1964 to celebrate the achievements of the Soviet people in space exploration, it features a rocket rising from the ground, 351 feet tall (107 meters).
The base of the Monument to the Conquerers of Space is stone with bas-reliefs of the men and women of the space program – and Laika, the first dog in space, too.
Astronaut Alley
Before you go in, be sure to go by Astronaut Alley to check out the busts of Yuri Gagarin, first man in space, and Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space, as well as other important figures in the Soviet space program.
The entrance to the Museum sits under one end of the Monument to the Conquerers of Space.
Inside the Moscow Cosmonaut Museum
As if all of this wasn’t impressive enough, we haven’t even been inside the museum yet, which sits below the Monument to the Conquerors of Space. Once inside, you are greeted by Yuri Gagarin or, at least a statue of Yuri Gagarin.
Space Dogs
Inside the museum you also see the taxidermied bodies of Belka and Strelka, the 2nd and 3rd dogs in space, and the first animals to come back alive. Fun story – Strelka had puppies after her return. One of the puppies was given to U.S. President John F. Kennedy in 1961 by Nikita Kruschev, and lived in the White House. That dog eventually had puppies of her own, the ‘granddogs’ of Strelka, which Kennedy jokingly called “pupniks”.
Valentina Tereshkova, first woman in space
As a girl-power space geek, I think Valentina Tereshkova is awesome! Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space in 1961. Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space in 1963. It was 20 years after that, in 1983, when America sent their first woman to space.
Valentina was a textile factory worker and amateur skydiver before she joined the Air force as part of the Cosmonaut Corps. She retired from the Air Force in 1997. Currently in her 80s, she holds elected office in Russia.
She remains the only woman to fly solo to space, and the youngest at only 26 years old.
Glory to the heroes of space!”
This poster is epic.
“This flag of your nation was carried to the moon and back by Apollo 11, and this fragment of the Moon’s surface was brought to Earth by the crew of that first lunar landing.”
Cool.
You can learn more about visiting the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics (hours, cost, etc.) on their website: https://kosmo-museum.ru/?locale=en
