Yuri's Night 2016

I made the following program note in the concluding paragraph of Saturn Awards leftovers plus 'Batman vs. Superman' loses to 'The Boss'.

Tomorrow is Yuri's Night followed by Apophis Day.  I don't think I realized that I celebrate two space days one right after the other, the first about the promise of space and the second about its perils.  Now that I do, I'm appreciating the juxtaposition.

It's tomorrow, so it's time to celebrate the 55th anniversary of the first crewed space flight and the 35th anniversary of the first operational launch of the space shuttle.  I begin by embedding the video I should have used last year, when I forgot Yuri's Night, instead posting a retrospective, a driving update, and an entertainment feature.  I present Yuri's Night Greetings from Samantha Cristoforetti from April 2015.

Italian Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti, who is on the ESA Futura mission onboard the International Space Station, sends her greetings to Yuri's Night events around the world that are planned around April 12, the anniversary of Yuri Gagarin's spaceflight in 1961. Yuri's Night would like to thank Samantha and our friends at the European Space Agency for sending us this video to share with events worldwide. Rock the planet!

Samantha is celebrating Yuri's Night this year, albeit on Earth.  The Planetary Society posted a podcast this morning, Celebrating Yuri’s Night 2016 with Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti.

Happy Yuri’s Night! We’re partying under Space Shuttle Endeavour in the first of two shows featuring interviews from the worldwide celebration of space. Star Trek’s Robert Picardo will talk about his new video newsletter, the Planetary Post, and we’ll visit with Samantha Cristoforetti, who returned last June from 200 days aboard the International Space Station. Emily Lakdawalla reports on the spacecraft exploring our solar system this month, while Bruce Betts tells us What’s Up.

Also, to make up for missing last year, I'm sharing NASA Johnson's Yuri’s Night Greeting from Expedition 43 Commander Terry Virts.

Expedition 43 commander Terry Virts of NASA took time to send a special message to celebrators around the globe recognizing the anniversary of the first human space flight. On April 12, 1961, Russian cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space, making a 108-minute orbital flight in his Vostok 1 spacecraft.

Space cooperation has been a hallmark of U.S.-Russia relations, including during the height of the Cold War, and most notably, in the past 14 consecutive years of continuous human presence on board the International Space Station.

since today is a celebration of space exploration, follow over the jump for the latest news, especially for crewed spaceflight.