Juri Alexejewitsch Gagarin was a Soviet cosmonaut who became the first human to travel into space. On April 12, 1961, he orbited the Earth aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1, completing one full orbit in about 108 minutes. His successful mission marked a significant milestone in the Space Race between the Soviet Union and the United States. Gagarin was born on March 9, 1934, in Klushino, Russia. He trained as a pilot and joined the Soviet space program in the late 1950s. After his historic flight, Gagarin became an international hero and symbol of Soviet space achievements, promoting space exploration worldwide until his untimely death in 1968.