The Museum of Cosmonautics

The Russian national hero Yuri Gagarin, who became the first person to orbit the earth, is honored in particular in the Museum of Cosmonautics. The spacecraft used by the renowned astronaut for his epic mission is one of the amazing exhibitions about space.

The museum tour takes tourists on an engaging journey where they can find many authentic items that have historically been utilized in space travel, such as the first artificial satellite, Sputnik, the first Soviet rocket engine, and the Lunokhod lunar rover.

You'll gain a fascinating insight into the enormous priority given to the space race throughout the Soviet era from a display on the evolution of space suits from various eras to the space-themed propaganda posters.

The inaugural displays at the Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics served as the first tangible proof of Russia's victory in space. Among those exhibitions were space suits, model Earth satellites, and spacecraft for studying the Moon and the planets of the solar system. The museum was closed in 2006 due to a three-year remodeling project. In 2009, the Museum of Cosmonautics reopened with a redesigned format and a four-times-larger exhibition area.

Currently, the exhibition occupies eight halls, and the museum also contains a conference room and a theater. The updated show now allows for the display of actual space equipment. Items used in the space industry, archive records, moving and still photos, faleristics, numismatic items, philatelic items, and other exhibitions can all be found here.

There are a variety of interactive exhibits, including virtual simulations of the International Space Station and space transporters. Additionally, you may observe the International Space Station in real-time and speak with its crew in this little replica of the Mission Control Center.

4000 of the 8500 square meters that make up the renovated museum are used for exhibition space. More than 93 thousand items, including works of stamps, art, and coins, are on display.

Even if you aren't a huge fan of space travel, there are a lot of interesting things to see at the Museum of Cosmonautics. Two taxidermied dogs are probably the first displays you'll see while entering. Belka and Strelka are the first dogs to travel to space and return; their names are Belka and Strelka. President John F. Kennedy received one of the six puppies that Strelka later gave birth to. This dog eventually gave birth to puppies with Charlie, the Kennedy family dog. JFK jokingly referred to the puppies as pupniks.