Memorial Museum of Astronautics

The Memorial Museum of Astronautics (Мемориальный музей космонавтики) sits in the base of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space, a soaring titanium-clad obelisk topped by a rocket that rises above northern Moscow near VDNKh. The monument was unveiled in 1964. The museum beneath it opened in 1981, on the twentieth anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's flight, and was later enlarged.

The galleries trace the Soviet and Russian space programme from early rocketry to orbital stations. Visitors see replicas of the first Sputnik satellites, descent capsules, spacesuits and a lunar rover. Among the most visited exhibits are the preserved bodies of Belka and Strelka, the dogs who returned alive from orbit in 1960. Displays also cover Sergei Korolev, the chief designer behind the early programme, and the cosmonauts who flew his spacecraft.

The museum draws around three quarters of a million visitors a year. It suits families and anyone interested in the history of space flight, and the Alley of Cosmonauts outside extends the visit.