FILE - In this July 15, 1961 picture, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, stands in an open car outside the Russian embassy in London and waves to the crowd as he departs for home. It was the Soviet Union's own giant leap for mankind _ one that would spur a humiliated America to race for the moon. It happened on Tuesday, April 12, 1961 when the air force pilot became the first human in space. (AP Photo/File)