The suit wasn’t any old suit, however: It belonged to the legendary Russian Yuri Gagarin, the first human to go into space, in April 1961.

On April 12, 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person in space. See photos of the historic flight of Vostok 1.

** ADVANCE FOR USE SUNDAY, APRIL 10, 2011 AND THEREAFTER ** FILE - This undated photo shows cosmonaut Maj. Yuri Gagarin in his space suit. It was the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind ...

Bulky suits of Apollo gave way to sleek, slick flight suits of space shuttles and SpaceX From the days of the first humans in space, Yuri Gagarin and John Glenn, spacesuits have undergone dramatic ...

On April 12, 1961 the first human flew in space. “I see Earth! It is so beautiful!" said 27-year old Yuri Gagarin, the Russian cosmonaut who was chosen among thousands for the mission. The ...

Space suits started from humble beginnings and have evolved over the decades to become modern marvels of research and development.

He was going to be the first man in space—or die trying. And yet, inside his tiny spherical metal capsule, Gagarin was calm. Vostok-1, his ship, and Vostok-K, his rocket, were humming with him.

The life and times of Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, who became the first man in space on April 12, 1961. See the full slideshow at Life.

Fifty years ago, Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space. It was a wondrous achievement - so why did the Russians try to mount a major cover-up on the cosmonaut's return?

New Delhi, Apr 12 (PTI) A sculptural plaque depicting in bas-relief legendary cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin -- the first human to travel to outer space -- and two other space pioneers from Russia was ...

Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to venture into space on April 12, 1961. What Happened: Gagarin achieved many firsts on that day — including becoming the first person to ...

So, exploring space means using special suits that allow astronauts to breathe and stay at the right temperature. In 1961, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin wore the first spacesuit; since then, they have ...