Alexei Leonov

Alexei Leonov was a super brave explorer from a country called the Soviet Union. He loved airplanes and dreamed of flying even higher. On March 18, 1965, his dream came true in a big way! He climbed into a spaceship called Voskhod 2 and blasted off towards the stars. He was the very first person ever to leave his spaceship and float around in outer space!

When Alexei stepped out of his spaceship, it was like stepping onto a giant, dark playground with no ground. He was tied to the ship with a long rope, like a kite string, so he wouldn't float away. He floated for 12 minutes and 9 seconds, which is about as long as it takes to sing your favorite song twice! He saw Earth from way, way up high, looking like a beautiful blue marble.

Alexei didn't just go to space once! Later, in 1975, he was the captain of a spaceship called Soyuz. This time, his mission was super special because it met up with an American spaceship called Apollo. It was like two different teams from different schools playing together in space! They docked, which means they connected their ships, and spent two whole days working together in orbit.

Besides being an amazing spacewalker and space explorer, Alexei was also a talented artist. He loved to draw and paint, even in space! He even drew pictures of what he saw from his spaceship window. He was also a writer and a general in the Air Force. He was a true hero and inspired many people to reach for the stars.