Who was the first person in space?
Yuri Gagarin (1934–1968) became the first person to travel into space, on April 12th, 1961. His spacecraft was called Vostok 1 and it orbited Earth once. The entire mission lasted 108 minutes.
The flight was mostly automated as it was not known how a person would react to weightlessness. The landing was deemed too dangerous for a human so Gagarin ejected at 7 km above the ground, parachuting to safety.
Considered a "living treasure", Gagarin was retired from the space program for his safety. Tragically he was killed in a plane crash in 1968.
"Circling the Earth in my orbital spaceship I marveled at the beauty of our planet. People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty—not destroy it!"
- Yuri Gagarin