Statue of Yuri Gagarin, Space exploration monument at Royal Observatory Greenwich, United Kingdom.
The zinc statue depicts a cosmonaut in his space suit standing atop a metallic globe positioned at the Royal Observatory entrance. The figure stands upright with gaze and posture directed upward.
The statue was gifted in 2011 by Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, to the British Council to honor 50 years of human spaceflight. The gift represented recognition of this scientific achievement by Soviet space exploration.
The monument symbolizes scientific cooperation between Russia and Britain in space exploration. It marks a place where a historic meeting occurred between the Soviet cosmonaut and a British Prime Minister.
The statue is freely accessible and can be viewed during regular Royal Observatory hours. Its location near the museum entrance means visitors can easily see the figure as they arrive.
The monument stands near the Prime Meridian line and is the only space explorer monument at this geographic reference point. This unusual placement connects two important concepts: measuring the Earth and exploring space.
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