RIP Alexei Leonov

On October 11 a chapter closed in the Soviet Space Age.

Alexei Leonov, the first human to walk in space (March 1965), the first human to sketch art in space, and the last living member of the inaugural class of Soviet cosmonauts, passed away at the age of 85.

Leonov was born in a large family which lost their home and had to relocate after his father was arrested in 1937. He was released two years later, and the family (with ten children) lived in extreme poverty in two rooms of a communal flat, in the Siberian city of Kemerovo. Leonov did not start school until he was 9 years old.