Memorial Museum of Astronautics

The Memorial Museum of Cosmonautics sits under the 107-meter 'Conquerors of Space' titanium obelisk in north-east Moscow, next to VDNKh metro. Opened in 1981 for the 20th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's orbital flight, it traces Soviet spaceflight chronologically: from the R-7 launch vehicle and Sputnik 1 through the dog capsules of Belka and Strelka to original segments of the Mir space station and a training model of the never-flown Buran shuttle. Highlights include Gagarin's notebook, multi-generation cosmonaut suits and a walk-through mock-up of the Mir base block. The museum also operates the nearby home of Sergei Korolev, chief designer of the Vostok programme. English audio guides are available; pair the visit with the adjacent VDNKh exhibition park.