“There are no borders in space between us”. That’s what Roscosmos’ Mikhail Kornienko and NASA’s Scott Kelly tell the world as they are about to start their year-long mission on the International Space Station—in preparation for a future trip to Mars. There are indeed no borders in space, and space exploration is a challenge that humanity as a whole took up 54 years ago, with the first manned flights by Yuri Gagarin and Alan Shepard in 1961.
Since then, over 540 people have been to space—that’s more than the number of people with Vatican citizenship, or approximately 38 metric tons (of sheer awesomeness)! Gagarin’s flight was once described as “a breakthrough into the Great Unknown.” but today’s Great Unknown lies way beyond low Earth orbit, and we will soon be ready to go there.
Still, it all started with a 27-year-old Soviet Air Force senior lieutenant who loved flying and ice hockey. So to commemorate Yuri Gagarin’s pioneering achievement, every April people across the world get together for Yuri’s Night, a fun and inspiring celebration of major space exploration milestones. And this year, which also marks the 40th anniversary of the Soyuz–Apollo Test Project—or Apollo–Soyuz, depending on where you come from—the Knight Science Journalism Program at MIT is hosting its very first Yuri’s Night!
Our celebration of humanity’s past and future achievements in space will start with a spaceflight–themed team quiz. Assemble your Expedition of six space exploration aficionados on the spot and show us what you know. The winning team will take home a $100 cash prize.
We too loved NASA’s amazing retro posters for exoplanet travel—and we want more. Hence the second part of our Yuri’s Night celebration, the Human Spaceflight Propaganda contest! Yeah, yeah, I know, robotic space probes are cool, but we need more small steps for men and women! Should those steps be on the Moon, asteroids, Mars or Europa?—you tell us.
(You might have seen my own slightly ridiculous take on this matter around the campus).
Respect for 1960s–70s–80s aesthetics, either Soviet or US, is awesome. Make sure your poster is good to print in 20 x 30 inches and does not infringe on other people’s copyright, and e-mail a digital file to KSJ acting director Wade Roush at wroush@mit.edu by April 1. With the help of a very esteemed jury, we will choose and print out the shortlisted posters for a small exhibition on campus, and the best one will get a special prize and applause from the Yuri’s Night crowd.
To support our unwavering commitment to human and not electronic brains, we are bringing a special guest speaker. Nikolay Kukushkin, a science writer and postdoctoral fellow at the Center for Neural Science at NYU, will talk about the impacts of zero gravity on astronauts’ (or cosmonauts’, because space does not discriminate) thinking organs. Naturally, this talk is called ‘This is Your Brain on Space.’
And a perfect final touch our our mission: amazing interplanetary disco from DJ Kukushkin that could make a Robonaut dance the night away. Trust us, this will be as close as you get to your brain on space without joining NASA.
So join us on April 11 (a Saturday), at 7 pm in the Stratton Student Center, Room 491. Please RSVP at our Eventbrite page and bring your spacesuits. Just kidding, the room will be pressurized.
Poyekhali!
P.S. If you have any questions, or if you would like to volunteer to help out with the event, please let us know here in the comments section or send a message to KSJ acting director Wade Roush at wroush@mit.edu
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