UNIS/OS/331
7 April 2006

Photo Exhibition at the Vienna International Centre Celebrates 45 Years of Humans in Space

VIENNA, 7 April (UN Information Service) -- The Permanent Mission of the Russian Federation to the United Nations (Vienna), in cooperation with the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) and the Russian Agency for International Information (RIA Novosti), is organizing a photo exhibition in celebration of the 45th anniversary of the first spaceflight around the Earth by a human being. The exhibition is being held in conjunction with the 45th session of the Legal Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS).

Colonel Yuri Gagarin of the former Soviet Union was launched into Earth orbit aboard Vostok-1 on 12 April 1961. He orbited the Earth for 1 hour and 48 minutes before returning safely to Earth. The photo exhibition will depict scenes from before, during and after the historic flight. It will also highlight the past and present achievements of the national and international spaceflight programmes of the Russian Federation.

The exhibition will be held from 10 to 20 April in the rotunda of the Vienna International Centre (VIC), and can be viewed as part of a guided tour of the VIC.

To book a guided tour, contact:

UNIS Vienna Visitors Service
Telephone: (43) 1 260 60 3328
E-mail: tours@unvienna.org

For information on OOSA contact:

Qais Sultan
Associate Programme Officer, OOSA
Telephone : +43 1 260 60 4962
E-mail : qais.sultan@unvienna.org

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The Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) was set up by the General Assembly in 1959 to review the scope of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, to devise programmes in this field to be undertaken under United Nations auspices, to encourage continued research and the dissemination of information on outer space matters and to study legal problems arising from the exploration of outer space. COPUOS and its two Subcommittees each meet annually to consider questions put before them by the General Assembly, reports submitted to them and issues raised by the Member States. The Committee and the Subcommittees, working on the basis of consensus, make recommendations to the General Assembly.

The United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (OOSA) implements the decisions of the General Assembly and of the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and its two Subcommittees, the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee and the Legal Subcommittee. The Office is responsible for promoting international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space, and assisting developing countries in using space science and technology. Located in Vienna, Austria, OOSA maintains a website at http://www.unoosa.org/.