MINSK, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Belarus celebrated the International Day of Human Space Flight on Friday, days after the country's first cosmonaut completed a journey into space.
Marina Vasilevskaya, the first cosmonaut in the history of sovereign Belarus, flew to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the prime crew of Visiting Expedition 21 on March 23, 2024, according to BelTA news agency.
The flight lasted 14 days, of which 12 days were on the Russian segment of the ISS.
Vasilyevskaya was awarded the title of "Hero of Belarus" by Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko on Thursday.
On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin carried out the first human space flight. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 2011, declaring April 12 as the International Day of Human Space Flight "to celebrate each year at the international level the beginning of the space era for mankind." ■