Who was the first man to perform a space flight, inaugurating the era of human space exploration?

Yuri Gagarin

On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first man to travel into space, completing one orbit around the Earth aboard the spacecraft Vostok 1. This remarkable feat not only proved that humans could survive a launch into space and a return to Earth, but it also symbolized the technological triumph of the Soviet Union in the early stages of the space race. Gagarin's flight paved the way for manned space exploration and remains one of the most iconic moments in space history.