"Cosmic" expositions, a car parade and a message from the ISS: large-scale celebration of Cosmonautics Day at the RUSSIA EXPO

On April 12, Cosmonautics Day will be celebrated at the International RUSSIA EXPO. The events will be held under the motto "Time for Russia! Time Forward!", which symbolizes the country's continuous striving for development and the future. The Exposition guests will be able to take part in a solemn procession with representatives of the rocket and space industry, watch a festive car parade, hear a video message to the Exposition participants and guests from the International Space Station (ISS), listen to performances of the best artists and see a unique space exposition "Russian Space: Creating the Future" in the Cosmonautics and Aviation Center.

From 10.00 to 22.00 on the Central Alley of VDNH, guests will be met by the thematic exposition "The First. The Way to the Stars" - an exposition dedicated to the 90th anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's birth. Visitors will see unique archival photos, symbolizing the cosmonaut's way to his famous flight.

From 10.30 to 11.30 in Pavilion No. 34 "Russian Space: Creating the Future", guests of the Exposition will be able to test their knowledge during the All-Russian Space Dictation, which has been held since 2019 and traditionally involves more than half a million participants. The test questions cover different areas - biographies of the legends of Russian cosmonautics, the peculiarities of life and work in orbit, planetary exploration and much more. The event is organized with the support of the general partner of the RUSSIA EXPO educational program - the Russian Society "Knowledge".

From 13.30 to 14.45 in the Cultural Projects Zone of Pavilion No. 75 a concert "Cosmic Greetings" will be held. An exciting musical and cosmic journey will be presented by the best artists and teams of Samara - the space capital of Russia. Merited Artist Sergei Voitenko, vocal group "The Five" and children's musical theater "Domisolka" will perform in front of the guests. 

From 13.40 to 17.00, Pavilion No. 57 "Education/Decade of Science and Technology" will host the career guidance educational marathon "Key to the Start", which will feature leading speakers of the Russian rocket and space industry. The event will also present modern and promising projects and technologies of world cosmonautics. Each participant of the marathon will have an opportunity to touch the mysterious world of space: to learn more about modern trends in the development of equipment and technologies, to get acquainted with the world of space science and personally ask Russian cosmonauts how our planet looks from space.

From 17.00 to 18.00, everyone will be able to take part in the solemn procession "Time of Russia! Time Forward!". From the Northern Loop of VDNH to the Main Street Stage accompanied by brass bands and children's symphony orchestra the future representatives of the rocket and space industry - students of specialized professions, representatives of cosmonaut dynasties, youth thematic space clubs, employees of the enterprises of the Roscosmos State Corporation - will march along the Exposition. Their participation in the parade will mark the succession of generations and remind that everything we are proud of today started with someone's dream many years ago. The parade will start with the legendary slogan of Yuri Gagarin - "Let's go!", and the event will end with a festive concert on the Main Street Stage.

From 18.00 to 18.30 in Pavilion No. 34 "Russian Space: Creating the Future", visitors to the Exposition will be treated to a unique event "The Light of New Stars" - a wedding ceremony that embodies the celestial union of newlyweds and symbolically connects them with space, embodies the romance and grandeur of outer space, emphasizes the eternity and boundlessness of true love. Four couples in love from "space" cities of the country will be the protagonists of the marriage ceremony. A robot of Roscosmos State Corporation will take part in the ceremony: it will present the rings to the newlyweds.

From 18.40 to 18.50 under the same motto - "Time for Russia! Time Forward!" - a colorful car parade will take place from Pavilion No. 34 "Russian Space: Creating the Future" to the Main Street Stage: cosmonauts and newlyweds will drive by in iconic retro cars GAZ-21, as well as in modern Russian cars Aurus and Evolute, embodying the journey to the beautiful future.

From 18.00 to 20.00, the festive events on the Main Street Stage will continue with the concert program "Time of Russia! Time Forward!". The concert will include the ceremony of handing over the symbolic Fire of the Family Hearth to the newlyweds and interaction with the cosmonauts on the International Space Station (ISS), who will address the participants and guests of the Exposition during the switch-on.  The concert will open with a new reading of the composition "Air March", the Choir of the Firsts from Russian Childrens and Youth Movement (RCYM) will perform a new interpretation of the famous song. Then the participants of "The Big Break" during the general concert program will present a thematic block about the future of our country - about children who are already coming up with socially important projects, implementing them and helping to improve people's lives and the life of the whole Russia! Also, opera singer Ksenia Dezhneva, soloist of the Bolshoi Theater, will perform at the concert with the song "Into Space" (the song was recorded for the movie "Challenge"), the newlyweds will perform their first dance to this composition. In addition, the concert program includes a show-ballet of the art-cluster "Tavrida", the performance of MOT, the youth headliner from VK, and the "space" rock band of the country "Zemlyane".

The concert will end with a composition by Vladimir Babenko, resident of Tavrida.ART - "Hello, Earth!" together with the Choir of the First from RCYM and residents of Tavrida.ART.

From 18.00 to 20.00, there will be a festive concert program in the Grand Conference Hall of Pavilion No. 75, which will be opened by the overture "Taming of the Fire" performed by the symphony orchestra. As part of the festive event, veterans and honored workers of the Russian rocket and space industry will be solemnly presented with state and departmental awards.

Also, during the festive day, the guests of VDNH will enjoy special tours around the Exposition, introducing the milestone events in the space industry of the country and the contribution of the regions to its development, meetings with real cosmonauts, space merchandise from the RUSSIA EXPO with Yuri Gagarin's quotes, presentation of space food from the Roscosmos State Corporation and much more.