Memorial Museum of Astronautics, Astronautical museum in Ostankinsky District, Moscow, Russia
The Memorial Museum of Astronautics occupies the stylobate beneath the Monument to the Conquerors of Space on Cosmonauts Alley. Its halls lie five metres below ground and cover 8,400 m², with 3,720 m² of exhibition space. The entrance is through a lobby created by roofing over the space between the monument's stairways.
The museum opened on April 10, 1981, as a celebration of Soviet space programs. The galleries were later expanded to accommodate more artifacts from Russian and international missions.
The museum's name comes from the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, in whose stylobate it sits on Cosmonauts Alley. The Alley is lined with sculptures, and the museum's halls are named after themes such as "The Morning of the Space Era" and "The Creators of the Space Era". The introductory hall is called "The History of the Universe".
The museum occupies the stylobate beneath the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, at the end of Cosmonauts Alley, which links it to the VDNKh metro station. The halls lie five metres below ground level; a new lobby was created by roofing the space between the stairs at the main entrance. After the 2006–2009 reconstruction the building was fitted with a barrier-free environment for visitors with limited mobility and wireless internet access.
The collection preserves the taxidermied bodies of Belka and Strelka, the first dogs to return safely from orbit in 1960. These two animals survived their flight and became famous symbols of early space exploration after landing.
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