H
uman exploration of space began more than
a half century ago with the launch of Vostok
1 on April 12, 1961. The small capsule carried
cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, the first human to leave
the bonds of Earth and enter space. Exactly 20 years
later, the United States began a new era in spaceflight
with the inaugural launch of the Space Shuttle.
Twenty years after that, an annual celebration of our
exploration of space began by connecting thousands
of people around the world to celebrate past
accomplishments and to inspire a new generation.
That event is Yuri’s Night. Every year on April 12, Yuri’s
Night brings the excitement and promise of space
travel closer to people of all ages and all nationalities.
What Is Yuri’s Night?
Yuri’s Night is a global celebration of humanity’s
past, present and future in space. Yuri’s Night events
combine space-themed partying with education and
outreach. These can range from an all-night mix of
techno and technology at a NASA Center, to a movie
showing and stargazing at your local college, to a
gathering of friends at a bar or backyard barbecue.
Yuri’s Night brings together scientists, educators,
artists, space fans, and everyday partygoers to use
space as a catalyst for developing the next generation
of explorers. Yuri’s Night promotes space exploration
and scientific discovery to people of all ages and
backgrounds, and works to connect the world in a single
celebration of humanity’s greatest achievements.
In 2011, the 50th anniversary of human spaceflight,
over 100,000 people attended 567 officially-recognized
events in 75 countries on all seven continents, while
tens of thousands more watched the 12-hour live Yuri’s
Night Global Webcast, and participated online in the
virtual world of Second Life.
April 12, 2001: Launch of Yuri’s Night
Yuri’s Night was created by Loretta Hidalgo, George
Whitesides, and Trish Garner in September 2000 to
celebrate the upcoming 40th anniversary of Gagarin’s
flight. Seven months later they kicked off the inaugural
Yuri’s Night at the UN’s Space Generation Advisory
Council Conference in Graz, Austria. The World Space
Party was celebrated at 64 events around the world.
The flagship event in Los Angeles brought together
VIPs including pop singer (and space enthusiast)
Lance Bass, scientists and engineers from JPL, and the
Hollywood party crowd for an event that truly rocked
the house. Melbourne had a posh affair with space
cocktails; the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station did
a toast; Cape Town celebrated with a space wedding
complete with a Shuttle cake; Vancouver, London,
Leiden, Istanbul, Bröllin, and Dublin all had large dance
parties; Boston put on a full day of events; and in Houston
even the NASA brass showed up to get down.
Felipe Hernandez (or Astrolipe), a DJ/space architect
from Chile, was interviewed by CNN en Español.
Loretta was on the KNBC local news live in the studio,.
www.RocketSTEM.org
Chris Welch was on BBC Radio, and George was on
both NPR’s Morning Edition and MTV’s Mandy Moore
Summer Special – where he was highlighted as a good
guy for his efforts to bring the planet together to dance
for space.
After the party, young people from the LA club scene
told us it was the best party they had been to and
thanked us for creating such an awesome space. Young
engineers from JPL stopped and told us it was the most
fun they had had out in a long time. We succeeded in
doing what we had set out to do – bring together the
people who really work for space with the people who
think space is cool and want to be a part of it.
Yuri’s Night today
Since that first event, Yuri’s Night has continued to
grow and become, not just a party, but a cultural
touchstone for space fans around the world. Yuri’s
Night has been celebrated everywhere from Alabama
to Australia, from Stockholm to Second Life, by crews
at the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station, and by
astronauts on board the International Space Station. In
2008, over 10,000 people came to NASA Ames’ Moffett
Field to celebrate Yuri’s Night with presentations by
Tesla Motors, game designer Will Wright, and Grateful
Dead bassist Phil Lesh at YN Bay Area.
With 112 events in 26 countries on five continents
already scheduled, 2013 is shaping up to be one of the
biggest years for Yuri’s Night yet. Yuri’s Night has rolled
out a brand-new website and event management
system, complete with a new Yuri’s Night greeting from
actor LeVar Burton (http://youtu.be/JlJc5YG24SU). This
year, Yuri’s Night is partnering with Science Cheerleader
and SciStarter on Project MERCCURI, a microbial
experiment which will send a sample from at least one
Yuri’s Night event to the ISS this fall.
For 2013, we have events registered around the world
and more coming online every day. We have parties
happening in Los Angeles, Houston, Paris, New Delhi,
and too many other cities to list, so take a look and
see if one’s going on near you. If there isn’t one listed
yet, check back later - or start your own! There’s plenty
of time to organize an event at a local restaurant or
school, or just throw a house party with your friends.
There are many ways to participate in Yuri’s Night.
Our new website (http://yurisnight.net) gives you the
tools to find a party (http://yurisnight.net/find-a-party/)
or organize one of your own (http://yurisnight.net/#/
startparty).
If you can’t organize or attend an event in your
community, tune into the Yuri’s Night edition of NASA’s
Third Rock Radio (http://thirdrockradio.rfcmedia.com/)
on April 12, or join a Yuri’s Night event on Second Life or
another online network. We’ll also be streaming video
from parties around the world and posting photos and
stories on Yuri’s Night Live (http:/