Get close to space exploration

There is something about space, all those stars, all the unknown, that fascinates me. I am a traveller, an explorer at heart, a curious nosey-parker and while I cant travel to space myself, I did have the pleasure in being Mandy's plus 1 to a special treat; a private showing of the Cosmonauts exhibition by the Science Museum.

*Apologies in advance for the quality of the photos - I didn't know we were to have the privilege of taking photos inside the exhibit so had to rely on my phone camera.

Model of Sputnik I

I'm not a scientist or someone that loves to know the intricacies of getting humans into space. I do know that there are a heck of a lot of smart people who slaved away at the math, science and engineering of something believed to be impossible to make it possible.

Orlan DMA-18 extravehicular activity spacesuit and manned manoeuvring unit 21KS

And I also know that there were many brave people who took the risk of going into space with the possibility of it all going horribly wrong. To me, knowing these two things make space travel extremely impressive and utterly incredible.

LK-3 Lunar lander model

I loved walking through the exhibition, learning about the beginnings of our attempt to get into space, the secrecy, the hard work, the people behind it all, the tests, the failures and the successes.

Lunokhod 1 lunar roving vehicle model

It was brilliant to see the models of early space crafts and actual capsules (tiny!!!) that landed back to earth, bringing Cosmonauts home.

Can you believe 3 people fit in here? This is the Vokshod 1 descent module.

The successful launch of Sputnik 1 on 4th Oct 1957 started mankind's exploration in space and it wasn't long before the first man, Yuri Gagarin (27 years old), went into space on the 12th April 1961, barely 4 years later. Only a couple of years after that, on 16th June 1963, Valentina Tereshkova (26 years old) became the first woman in space.

Valentina Tereshkova's Vostok 6 descent module

It was also interesting to see all the 'daily life' displays showing everything from soup paste to waste disposal and the variety of space suits. You have to put up with a lot as an astronaut!

Mir space station dining table with pastes, dehydrated and tinned food - yum...?

No caption required here...I think you can guess or if not its in the bottom left corner.

Never complain about your shower, it cant compare to this.

Some of the different suits on display

This exhibition, 'Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age', has been carefully curated with many of the items on display never seen in public before. It is due to close in 5 weeks so if you are in any way interested in space, you need to it check out now. There are several 'lates' and other talks and events going on in the meantime too. Tickets to the exhibition are £14.