At Artek, space is getting closer: young Gagarinites drew a ruler at the bust of the Earth’s first cosmonaut

CrimeaPRESS reports:

On April 12, participants of the 4th shift “Earth is our common home” together with the whole country celebrate Cosmonautics Day. In the “space” children’s center itself, whose guest was the first cosmonaut of the Earth more than 10 times, the day began with a ceremonial lineup in “Khrustalny” — the children’s camp is named after Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin.

Artek residents gathered at the bust of Yuri Gagarin, which was installed in front of the Khrustalny building in 2011. The ceremony participants were welcomed by the Deputy Director of the Artek International Children’s Center Ekaterina Fidyaeva:

63 years ago the world changed. He woke up completely different, the first Soviet man, Yuri Alekseevich Gagarin, flew into space. He stayed there for 108 minutes and successfully returned to Earth. From that moment on, a new space age began. His flight inspired millions of people around the world. A new era began: Gagarin’s flight provided development and progress in various fields. This breakthrough took place thanks to the knowledge and skills of thousands of space industry workers. Our country continues its glorious traditions today, building up and consolidating its successes, and you, our young generation, take up this baton with dignity. On this special festive and symbolic day, I wish you endless energy, optimism, dedication and faith, success. An Artek member today is always an Artek member!

During the ceremony, the guys learned interesting facts about the hero’s feat and his friendship with Artek. In September 1961, the first cosmonaut on the planet visited Artek for the first time. At that time, there was no more popular person on Earth than Yuri Gagarin. He not only told the Artek residents about what our Earth is like from space, but also became a judge of the Sniper competition. The struggle between the four camps was desperately stubborn — everyone wanted to get the cup from the hands of the famous astronaut. The victory then went to the Lazurny children’s camp.

I returned from the flight and became a cosmic guest of the wonderful republic of red ties… I see how Artek is blossoming and being built. There are more and more squads here, more and more Soviet guys and children from different countries. … I believe that more than one Artek resident will become a space route reconnaissance,” Gagarin recalled his first visit to Artek.

Since then, a strong friendship has developed between Artek and the astronaut. Yuri Gagarin came to the children’s center more than 10 times. The legendary cosmonaut personally organized the world’s first Museum of Cosmonautics here, and took part in the delivery of exhibits to the Suuk-Su Palace from Star City in the Moscow region and from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. The grand opening of the Museum in Artek took place on July 2, 1967.

The Artek Museum contains the entire history of human conquest of space, from test launches of rockets to the exploration of extraterrestrial space. The stands display personal belongings of researchers and astronauts, as well as real exhibits that have been in space. Yuri Gagarin donated his spacesuit to Artek. The collection of the Artek Cosmos Museum was replenished only with unique exhibits. Lunokhod-1, the world’s first planetary rover. In 1970, exactly the same one successfully plowed the surface of the Moon. And this is a test sample. A chair for training the vestibular apparatus is a gift from cosmonaut Pavel Belyaev. It is still working, and any Artek resident can check their readiness for space flights. Each exhibit is unique in its own way. Over half a century, more than 70 astronauts have left their autographs in the museum’s Guest Book. Just like in the 60s, they come to the guys at Artek.

According to tradition, during the ceremony, the guys tied an Artek tie to the monument to Yuri Gagarin, as a symbol of memory of their great friend Artek.

The International Children’s Center annually hosts space shifts, organized jointly with Roscosmos. The guys study rocket science, the basics of remote sensing of the Earth, study at the Aeronautical Engineering School, and launch rockets. Artek residents walk the same paths that the first space explorer walked several decades ago, they dare and learn to win, as Yuri Gagarin did in his time.

Photos and materials: press service of the Artek Medical Center.

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