Q 01/05

On what date did Yuri Gagarin become the first person to travel into space?

A) 16 June 1963

B) 20 February 1962

C) 4 October 1957

D) 12 April 1961

Answer · why

D) 12 April 1961

The date is now marked as Cosmonautics Day in Russia and the International Day of Human Space Flight worldwide.

Q 02/05

What was the name of the spacecraft that carried Gagarin into orbit?

A) Voskhod 1

B) Soyuz 1

C) Sputnik 2

D) Vostok 1

Answer · why

D) Vostok 1

Vostok means 'East' in Russian, and the programme's later flights carried the first woman in space, Valentina Tereshkova.

Q 03/05

How long did Gagarin's spaceflight last?

A) 108 minutes

B) 24 hours

C) 3 hours 15 minutes

D) 48 minutes

Answer · why

A) 108 minutes

Long enough for a single orbit of Earth before the capsule came down in Kazakhstan.

Q 04/05

How many orbits of Earth did Gagarin complete on his flight?

A) One

B) Seven

C) Three

D) Seventeen

Answer · why

A) One

His backup pilot flew 17 orbits on Vostok 2 four months later.

Q 05/05

From which launch site was Gagarin's spacecraft launched?

A) Vostochny Cosmodrome

B) Plesetsk Cosmodrome

C) Baikonur Cosmodrome

D) Kapustin Yar

Answer · why

C) Baikonur Cosmodrome

The pad Gagarin left from, which had also launched Sputnik 1, is now known as Gagarin's Start.