COSMONAUTS: BIRTH OF THE SPACE AGE

The Science Museum was buzzing with the arrival of some extraordinary Russian space craft and space pioneer Alexei Leonov (the first man to conduct a space walk, in 1965), to announce the forthcoming exhibition, Cosmonauts: Birth of the Space Age. Designed by Real Studios, it opens with the greatest collection of Soviet spacecraft and artefacts ever assembled in one place.

In a scheme influenced by the dynamic shapes and colours of the Suprematist and Constructivist art movements, the exhibition plunges visitors into the two decades in Russian history, when Russia led the world in space travel technology. Outstanding exhibits, like the 5 metre high LK-3 lunar lander, combine with fascinating accounts of the personalities behind the space programme, and the cultural and social setting for the Russian government's ambitions.

Image: Boris Staris, The fairy tale became truth, 1961. Published by The Young Guard (Molodaya Gvardia), c. Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics