The history of cosmonautics began during World War II, when the Germans began developing the first long range missiles. After the end of the war, both the US and the Soviet Union were developing their own missiles. In 1957, Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was sent into orbit by the Soviet Union. Four years later, the astronaut Yuri Gagarin was the first human to be sent to space, in the Soviet Vostok 1. The space race between the US and the Soviet Union continued and culminated with the American moon landing fifty years ago.

 

From space to Prague

Both the origins of space travel and more recent history is displayed in the exhibition that has travelled to Prague from Brno and which was established in cooperation with NASA, the Cosmosphere Museum and Educational Centre, and Czech experts. You can see several hundred original exhibits from the USA and USSR, some of which were actually in space. A unique collection of spacesuits and models of spaceships, shuttles and rockets will also be on display.

 

Walk through an orbital station

The entire exhibition covers more than 2,000 m2, and includes a walk-through model of the Mir space station, a space shuttle and a control centre, which allow you to experience what it is like to be both an astronaut in space and a member of the ground staff.

Much of the exhibition is devoted to both the successful and tragic Apollo missions and the moon exploration, including the original nozzles of Saturn V and Apollo 11. The Soviet program Soyuz is also part of the exhibition. Lovers of space travel will also appreciate the Soviet Lunochod and American Lunar Rover on exhibition.

 

Past and future

At the end of the exhibition, visitors will be introduced to NASA’s latest projects, Space X with Falcon 9 and the Dragon spaceship, and other projects for exploring the moon and flying to Mars.

 

For further information, please visit: https://www.cosmosdiscovery.cz/.