12th April: International Day of Human Space Flight

The United Nations (UN) celebrates the International Day of Human Space Flight on April 12 each year. The day remembers the first human space flight on April 12, 1961.

The General Assembly, in its resolution A/RES/65/271 of 7 April 2011, declared 12 April as the International Day of Human Space Flight “to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind, reaffirming the important contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of States and peoples, as well as ensuring the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes.”

12 April 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

Humanity’s interest in the heavens is universal and enduring. Hunting for knowledge and information, exploring the unknown, and discovering new worlds is said to be part of our species’ genetic programming. This very curiosity has not only taken us to every nook and corner of Earth—traverse through mountains, forests, and deserts, and dive into diverse seas and oceans—but has also led us away and beyond from our very own planet.

To quench this never-ending thirst for curiosity, humans started entering into space in the 1960s. And since then, we have consistently undertaken longer and trickier journeys, to explore destinations farther and alien.