For information only - not an official document

UNIS/OS/448
12 April 2015


UN Outer Space Office to mark Human Space Flight Day by launching fourth edition of "Messages from Space Explorers"

VIENNA, 12 April (UN Information Service) -The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) is joining the global celebrations for today's International Day of Human Space Flight, a UN-declared event celebrating the beginning of the space era for humankind and commemorating the contribution of space science and technology to sustainable development.

To mark the day, UNOOSA is launching the fourth edition of its "Messages from Space Explorers". This collection of messages from space explorers serves as a reminder of their contribution and as an inspiration for future generations.

The new edition contains messages from Jean-François Clervoy and Michel Tognini of France, Alexander Gerst of Germany, Paolo Nespoli and Luca Parmitano of Italy, Akihiko Hoside and Naoko Yamazaki of Japan and Scott Kelly, Rick Linnehan and Michael Lopez-Alegria of the United States. Scott Kelly is on a one year mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS) which started on 28 March 2015.

The autograph album also contains a copy of signed sheets received from 57 other space explorers from 20 nations, among them Valentina Tereskhova of the Russian Federation, the first woman in space, and Charles F. Bolden, the NASA Administrator, and a copy of the autographs of Yuri Gagarin of the Russian Federation, the first man in space, and Edward H. White, the first American to walk in space, on their visit to the United Nations.

"Yuri Gagarin's journey as the first human in space 54 years ago has inspired us all to advance the boundaries of exploration," said UNOOSA Director Simonetta Di Pippo. "Recording the messages of the many men and women who have travelled into space allows us to commemorate the role these people have played as Ambassadors for humankind."

The new edition will be launched on 12 April on the UNOOSA website and will be available in six languages.

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For further information please contact:

Sinead Harvey
United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA)
Telephone: (+43- 1) 26060-8718
Email: sinead.harvey[at]unoosa.org