First Man in Space (1961)

Hello. My name is Yuri Gagarin, and ever since I was a little boy, I loved looking up at the sky. I would watch the birds soar and the fluffy white clouds drift by and imagine what it would be like to fly among them. The sky looked like a giant blue ocean above our heads, and I wanted to explore it. When I grew up, I learned how to fly airplanes. It was just as wonderful as I had dreamed. I could swoop and dive and feel as free as a bird. But I still wanted to go higher. One day, some very important people asked me a secret question. They wanted to know if I would be brave enough to go where no human had ever gone before—into outer space. My heart did a little flip-flop. Flying in a rocket. Seeing the stars up close. Of course, I said yes. I was chosen for a mission that would change the world.

On the morning of April 12th, 1961, I woke up feeling like my tummy was full of happy, buzzing bees. This was the big day. The sun was just starting to peek over the horizon, but I was wide awake. It was time to put on my special spacesuit. It was big and puffy and the color of a bright orange carrot. My helmet was round like a fishbowl, and when I put it on, I could hear my own breathing. Whhooo. Haaaah. After getting all dressed, I took a bus to the launch pad where my rocket, the Vostok 1, was waiting. It was huge, pointing straight up at the sky like a giant silver pencil. I waved goodbye to all my friends and the scientists who had worked so hard to make this journey possible. They all smiled and waved back, which made me feel very brave. I climbed up a tall ladder and squeezed into my tiny seat inside the capsule. It was very snug, with lots of buttons and little windows. Then, a calm voice started counting down in my ears. ‘Ten, nine, eight….’ My heart was beating like a drum. Thump-thump-thump. When the countdown reached ‘one,’ the whole rocket began to shake and roar like a lion. I held on tight and shouted a happy, hopeful word, ‘Poyekhali.’. In my language, that means ‘Let’s go.’. With a mighty push, we lifted off the ground, going faster and faster toward the stars.

Once the rumbling and shaking stopped, everything became quiet and peaceful. I was floating in my seat. I felt as light as a feather. I looked out of the small window next to me, and my jaw dropped. There it was. Our Earth. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen. It was a perfect, shining blue ball with swirls of white clouds, floating in the deep, dark blackness of space. It looked like a precious glass marble. I could not see any countries or lines separating people, just one beautiful, whole planet. Seeing our world like that filled my heart with wonder. My trip around the Earth was over quickly, and I landed safely back in a field. I was the first person to ever see our planet from space, and it taught me something important. It showed me that if you dream big and work together, anything is possible. And it showed me that we all share one amazing home that we must always take care of.