Yuri's Night

Yuri's Night, also known as The SpaceKind Foundation, is a non-profit organization that uses space exploration as a catalyst for educating and developing the next generation of explorers. With a mission to inspire and empower leaders, build communities, bridge cultures, encourage science literacy, and promote a sustainable future, Yuri's Night organizes events, hosts projects, and encourages the exploration of new ideas. Every year, Yuri's Night hosts the namesake annual event in April, known as The World Space Party.

This event combines space-themed partying with education and outreach, celebrating all aspects of humanity's journey into space, such as music, art, science, culture, and more. The highlight of the event is the commemoration of Yuri Gagarin becoming the first human to venture into space on April 12, 1961, and the inaugural launch of the first Space Shuttle on April 12, 1981. Yuri's Night supports grassroots event organizers globally by providing information, logos, multimedia, and publicity.

These events can range from techno and technology mixes at NASA Centers to movie showings and stargazing. Besides supporting grassroots events, Yuri's Night also produces flagship events in Los Angeles, California, and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. In recent years, flagship events have been held digitally, featuring guests such as artists, astronauts, musicians, Mars scientists, and cultural icons.

In addition to the annual celebration, Yuri's Night is also involved in various other projects. This includes SpaceKind leadership training based on the book The New Right Stuff by co-founder Loretta Whitesides, the Cosmic Odyssey Scholarship that sends pediatric cancer survivors and their families to Space Camp, and Mission: AstroAccess, which aims to launch a diverse range of people to space. Yuri's Night has been recognized for its significant contributions to space education and outreach.

These include hosting talks by notable figures such as Sir Richard Branson, collaborations with organizations like Disney Jr., the planting of moon trees around the world, and training the next generation of space leaders. With its dedication to using space as a means to connect and inspire people, Yuri's Night continues to make a lasting impact in the exploration of our cosmos