The Sun rises over Earth in a postcard illustrated by Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, recalling the 1965 mission when he became the first human to walk in space.

Alexei Leonov was a prolific and talented artist, and drew and painted many pictures inspired by his experiences in space

This particular picture is rather special though, because he drew the first draft for it while in space using coloured pencils he took with him:

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2015/aug/31/first-picture-space-cosmonauts-science-museum-alexei-leonov

The first walk in space coincided with the first art in space. Humans literally can’t not do art

my dude Alexei made some insanely cool space art

As I pulled myself back toward the airlock, I heard Pasha talking to me: “It’s time to come back in.” I realized I had been floating free in space for over 10 minutes. In that moment my mind flickered back for a second to my childhood, to my mother opening the window at home and calling to me as I played outside with my friends, “Lyosha, it’s time to come inside now.”

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The Alexei Leonov

2010: The Year We Make Contact

Leonov

Space art by cosmonaut Alexei Leonov (1934-2019)

“You just can’t comprehend it. Only out there can you feel the greatness - the huge size of all that surrounds us.”

–Alexei Leonov, first human to walk in space, March 18, 1965