When Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth in April 1961, he carried centuries of hopes and dreams into space with him. Visionaries had long struggled to picture the expanse beyond Earth’s skies, with its mind-boggling scale and promise of a new frontier for human exploration. But when Gagarin arrived back on firm ground, what seemed to have impacted him the most was not the vast spectacle of the universe outside our planet. It was the view of Earth within it "Circling the Earth in my orbital spaceship, I marveled at the beauty of our planet,” he remarked following his historic voyage. “People of the world, let us safeguard and enhance this beauty, and not destroy it."

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