THE INTERNATIONAL DAYS THROUGH THE COLLECTIONS OF THE NUMISMATIC MUSEUM
The United Nations (UN) have designated specific days of the year for commemorating or promoting certain events or topics. The objective is to increase awareness and motivate the international community towards certain issues. These days are proposed by one or more Member States, as well as by specialised agencies (UNESCO, UNICEF, FAO, etc) and are established with a resolution by the UN General Assembly.
In this series of posts, the Numismatic Museum presents coins, medals and other specimens from its Collections that are relevant to the UN International or World Days.
April the 12th – INTERNATIONAL DAY OF HUMAN SPACE FLIGHT
The International Day of Human Space Flight was established by the UN General Assembly on April 7, 2011 in order to commemorate the remarkable human achievements in outer space. It is celebrated every year on April the 12th, the date when, back in 1961, the Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth. Before that, on 4 October 1957 the first human-made satellite Sputnik I was launched into outer space, while on 20 July 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot upon the surface of the Moon. Since then, several international missions followed, while nowadays the International Space Station constitutes the centre of the multinational human presence in outer space.
The exploration of outer space began within a context of Cold War antagonisms. It is hoped, however, that it will eventually contribute to the realisation of the intertwined fate of all humanity and the need to protect and sustain our common home.
Useful links: https://www.un.org/en/observances/human-spaceflight-day
A small step for man…
For this year’s celebration, we present a bronze commemorative medal, which was struck in the United States by the Medallic Art Company on the occasion of the moon landing of Apollo 11 and the first ever steps of humans on the moon surface . Neil Armstrong’s quote “a small step for man… a giant leap from mankind” was since written in history.
concept/artwork/texts: D. Kloukinas, M. Binteri
photo: N. Sinadinakis
