The war in Ukraine extends its shadows also on the World Day of Human Flight in Space.
Established in 2011 by the United Nations Organization (UN) celebrates the beginning of the space age and Yuri Gagarin, who on April 12, 1961 was the first man to face a space flight.
Never, since 2011, this day comes in a period so difficult for space, with the stop of important space cooperation, such as the ExoMars mission to Mars, and which sees the International Space Station (ISS) as an oasis that continues to function regularly.
Established by the UN General Assembly
to celebrate "the beginning of the space age for humanity", the Day of Human Flight in Space was born to affirm the important "contribution of space science and technology in achieving sustainable development goals and increasing the well-being of states and peoples, as well as guaranteeing the realization of their aspiration to maintain outer space for peaceful purposes ".
Among its aims there is also that of underlining how space must be a territory for the benefit of all humanity, peaceful and without borders.
Symbol of the day is Yuri Gagarin
who on 12 April 1961 completed an orbit around the Earth aboard a Vostok 1 capsule reaching an altitude of 302 kilometers.
A given symbol of the space competition between the Soviet Union and the US, which the UN defines as a new 'dimension' for all humanity.
Iconic in this sense are also the
Voyager Golden Records
, two gold discs installed on board the Voyager probes launched in the 70s to explore the borders of the Solar System and now traveling in interstellar space, with a message of peace inside from all humanity.
Discs that were mentioned on the page dedicated to the Day on the UN website: "The Voyager project enterprise reminds us of who we are, where we come from and that we should treat each other with care", commented the director of the Office of Nations United for space affairs (Unoosa), Simonetta Di Pippo.
In recent months, however, space has also turned into a territory of political propaganda. For example, the head of the Russian space agency Roscosmos Dmitry Rogozin, for a few days, has chosen the face of Gagarin as his Twitter profile image.
The choices of the head of Roscosmos led to the conclusion of some important collaborations with the West, including the ExoMars mission to Mars and the European use of the Soyuz launcher.
Gagarin "cannot be the subject of political discussion" because he is "a
symbol for humanity
," said astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA).
For the president of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Giorgio Saccoccia, to resist, as "a '
"It is the International Space Station (ISS). Despite everything, he added," in recent weeks we have seen crews of different nationalities alternate and each time we have seen continuing in a nominal way the maintenance of the essential functions to the life of the ISS, under different responsibilities partner ". A signal that" we are well disposed for the future ".
