Washington, April 13 ( /Sputnik) NASA has marked the Cosmonautics Day by commemorating Russia’s Yuri Gagarin and the first Space Shuttle, the space agency said in a statement. “Today is the International Day of Human Space Flight marking Yuri Gagarin’s 1961 first flight and the first Space Shuttle launch in 1981,” the statement said. “As we honor global collaboration in exploration, we’re moving forward to the Moon and Mars under the Artemis Accords.” On April 12, 1961, Gagarin uttered the now famous phrase “Poyekhali!” (Let’s Go!) as the Vostok spacecraft lifted off and took the first person in space. The anniversary of the first cosmonaut’s flight is celebrated every year in Russia as Cosmonautics Day and as International Day of Human Space Flight in the rest of the world. The UN General Assembly declared April 12, the day of Gagarin’s space flight, as the International Day of Human Space Flight in 2011. /SPUTNIK GNK