Europe in space: European astronauts and cosmonauts

Since the 1950s, humans have been exploring space, the final frontier. 

During the 1960s, the space race was waged between the USA and USSR. Since then, space exploration and voyages have become synonymous with international cooperation - with an increasing number of European astronauts travelling to space.

Let's look at a selection of images and videos featuring astronauts from cultural heritage institutions across Europe.

Yuri Gagarin

Yuri Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who was the first person to journey into space. In April 1961, his capsule Vostok 1 completed one orbit of the earth.

After his historic space flight, Gagarin toured many countries throughout Europe and the rest of the world. 

During a visit to Athens, Gagarin became an honourary citizen of Greece and visited the Acropolis.

Valentina Tereshkova

Russian cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman in space, orbiting the Earth 48 times in a mission in 1963. After this mission, like Gagarin previously, she toured extensively - making 42 trips abroad between 1963 and 1970. 

Even today, she is still the only woman to have completed a solo space mission. 

This short video shows a telephone call between Valentina Tereshkova and Premier of the Soviet Union Nikita Khrushchev during her space mission.

Entretien téléphonique entre Nikita Khrouchtchev et Valentina Tereshkova, INA, In copyright

This video shows highlights of Tereshkova’s visit to Cuba in 1963.

This interview with Tereshkova was filmed in 1973 during a visit to Bucharest.

Sigmund Jähn

Sigmund Jähn was a German cosmonaut and pilot. In 1978, became the first German to fly into space - in a collaboration between the Soviet Union and East Germany.

Bertalan Farkas

Bertalan Farkas was a Hungarian cosmonaut, who flew to space in 1980 along with Soviet cosmonaut Valeri Kubasov. After 7 days, they returned to Earth having completed 124 orbits.

Including an interview with Bertalan Farkas, this television show from Hungary gives an inside view to Hungarians involvement in space flight.

Wubbo Ockels

Wubbo Ockels, an astronaut of the European Space Agency, was the first Dutch citizen in space, part of a 1985 Space Shuttle Challenger voyage.

This documentary from Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision outlines the preparations and chronicles the space shuttle’s flight. 

Dumitru Prunariu

Dumitru Dorin Prunariu was the first Romanian cosmonaut. On 14 May 1981, he became the first and only Romanian so far to fly in cosmic space.

He spent 7 days, 20 hours and 42 minutes in space, on the Soyuz 40 mission as part of the 'Intercosmos' space program.

Prunariu trained as an aeronautical engineer. He was selected as one of three candidates for the mission in January 1978, spending three years preparing for his space flight.

André Kuipers

André Kuipers - an astronaut from Amsterdam - became the second Dutch citizen to go to space, on a voyage to the International Space Station in 2004. At the end of 2011, he was the first Dutch astronaut to return to space beginning a 7 month mission to the International Space Station. 

This report - from the Netherlands Institute for Sound and Vision - shows the preparations for Kuipers’ first space flight.