The first human to travel into space was Yuri Gagarin. On April 12, 1961, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet cosmonaut, became the first person to orbit the Earth aboard the Vostok 1 spacecraft. Gagarin's historic flight lasted approximately 108 minutes, during which he completed one orbit around the Earth. This significant milestone in space exploration marked the beginning of human spaceflight and opened the door to further advancements in space exploration by both the Soviet Union and the United States during the Space Race era.