posted 04-10-2021 06:57 PM               

Yuri's Night to Host a Global Livestream and Virtual Party to Celebrate 60 Years of Human Spaceflight April 10, 2021

Bill Nye, Richard Branson, Leland Melvin, Inspiration4 Astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor, OK Go, NERVO and many more special guests join together Sat April 10 to celebrate the 60th anniversary of human spaceflight and the power of space to bring the world together.

On April 10, 2021 at 3 p.m. Pacific time, 60 years after Yuri Gagarin became the first human to orbit the Earth from space, Yuri's Night is again bringing together an all-star cast of space heroes, scientists, artists and musicians to celebrate a Triple Space Anniversary. 60 years since the 1st human in space (12 Apr 1961), 40 years since the first Space Shuttle Flight (12 Apr 1981), and 20 years since the first Yuri's Night party (12 Apr 2001).

The Global Livestream is available free of charge:

Co-created by Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides and George T. Whitesides, Yuri's Night was first celebrated in 2001. Since then, Yuri's Night has encouraged people to celebrate humanity's achievements in space and has been taken up by party hosts at over a thousand events around the globe. Join them in commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first human spaceflight (also known as Cosmonautics Day), the 40th anniversary of the first flight of the reusable space shuttle, and the 20th anniversary of Yuri's Night itself.

The theme of this year's event, "Earthseed," is a tip of the hat to African-American Science Fiction writer, Octavia Butler's book "Parable of the Sower." The book shares a powerful vision for a spiritual path that can bring communities together during hard times and inspire them with a vision of bringing life to the stars. Loretta added that, "That vision seemed fitting this year."

This year includes appearances by Planetary Society CEO Bill Nye, Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson, Inspiration4 Pilot Astronaut Dr. Sian Proctor, Former NASA astronaut and NFL player Leland Melvin, second-generation space explorer Richard Garriott, Italian Astronaut Luca Parmitano (ESA), NASA Astronaut Cady Coleman, Star Trek Executive Producer Rod Roddenberry, National Geographic Explorer Wasfia Nazreen, the Everyday Astronaut Tim Dodd, Tesla Pickup builder Simone Giertz, former SpaceX Director of Design Hillary Coe, Kelvin Manning, Associate Director of Kennedy Space Center, Frank White, author of the Overview Effect, and Future Virgin Galactic Astronaut Trevor Beattie. We will also be hosting a special event on Fri April 9th on Twitch with Everyday Astronaut, Amy Shiral Teitel and Scott Manly.

Also on tap will be a variety of amazing art and music. We are especially excited to be able to share a sneak preview of the new #ArtTogetherNow collaborative music video project from OK GO Sandbox made by fans in their homes during the pandemic. The band OK Go is also receiving the Spirit of Yuri's Night Award for both their fantastically good "Upside Down and Inside Out'' video shot (entirely while floating weightless!) and their work on OK Go Sandbox providing critical tools for teachers to use their innovative videos to inspire students to learn. The award celebrates people that have brought together space and art in amazing ways. Previous winners include Chris Hadfield for his Bowie-inspired music video shot in space and Disney+'s Miles From Tomorrowland show that has a whole episode about Yuri's Night.

The proceeds from the event will go to support our new Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship to send kids with pediatric cancer to a special Family Space Camp experience. Niko Banks launched the project to "pay it forward" for the Space Camp he was given after his own pediatric cancer treatments. Inventor Simone Giertz, who also had a brain tumor and Everyday Astronaut Tim Dodd will share about this new scholarship and how to bid on a package to take your family to train at Space Camp Aug 13-15, 2021 and help support this program!

Loretta Hidalgo Whitesides, cofounder of Yuri's Night, who has been sharing her memories of the last 20 years of Yuri's Night events via Twitter during the lead-up to this event, said, "It's been such a privilege to work with so many amazing people over the last 20 years who have worked to make all this magic happen. It's amazing how many people have gotten married, how many companies have gotten their start and how many friends have been met at Yuri's Night."

Allowing Yuri's Night to bring our many virtual guests these amazing experiences are a fantastic array of sponsors, including our main partners, the Roddenberry Foundation, Paragon Space Development Corporation and GoingToSpace.com. Also providing funding, merchandise, and special guests are Hendrick's Lunar Gin, iRoc Space Radio, Multiverse Media, the Planetary Society, TMRO Studios, Subtractive, MOVA Globes, Russian Standard Vodka, Courvoisier Cognac, OK Go Sandbox, SUPERCOLLIDER Art Gallery, That's It!, and Fever-Tree.