Mongolia marked the 45th anniversary of the first Mongolian traveling to space, achieved through a joint Soviet–Mongolian space mission.

On March 22, 1981, at 22:59 (Ulaanbaatar time), a joint Mongolian–Soviet crew consisting of cosmonauts Gurragchaa Jugderdemid and Vladimir Aleksandrovich Dzhanibekov launched aboard the Soyuz-39 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the former Soviet Union. 

They successfully returned to Earth on March 30 at 19:42. The crew spent 7 days, 20 hours, and 42 minutes in space, orbiting the Earth 124 times.
While humanity first traveled to space in 1961, exactly 20 years later, a Mongolian became one of those pioneers. Mongolia thus became the fifth country in the world to test its own technology in space, the 20th to develop and utilize space research equipment during a mission, and the 10th to send a human into space. Gurragchaa entered history as the first Mongolian, the second Asian, and the 101st human to travel into space.

During the mission, the Mongolian–Soviet crew conducted extensive photographic studies in areas such as mineral resources, zoology, and geography, which contributed valuable data to various sectors. In particular, the findings proved useful for fisheries in different countries. The crew also carried out scientific experiments in medicine, biology, physical technology, and remote sensing, laying the foundation for the development of space research in Mongolia.

Cosmonaut Gurragchaa studied at a flight training school in Frunze, USSR, in 1971, and later at the Zhukovsky Air Force Engineering Academy in Moscow in 1973. From 1978, he trained at the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center alongside M. Ganzorig. At the time, he held the rank of captain in the Mongolian People’s Army. Following his spaceflight, he was awarded the titles of Hero of the Mongolian People’s Republic and Hero of the Soviet Union, and promoted to major. Cosmonaut V.A. Dzhanibekov was also awarded the title of Hero of the Mongolian People’s Republic.

MONTSAME Agency provided full coverage of this historic event, delivering news of the first Mongolian spaceflight to audiences around the world.

Reports and photographs produced by MONTSAME correspondents were disseminated through Mongolian radio, television, the newspaper Unen, and all major domestic media outlets, as well as internationally in Russian, English, French, and Chinese. The mission was covered by MONTSAME’s Moscow correspondent Galdan T., analyst Bazarvaani D., literary secretary Chagdar Ch., photographers Nina Ts. and Batsukh S., teletype operator Byambajav J., and translator Sukhbaatar Ya., who was then an editor at the State Committee for Radio and Television. MONTSAME correspondent Galdan T. also conducted the first brief interview with the cosmonauts upon their return to Earth.

Photojournalists from MONTSAME were stationed on special assignment at “Star City,” where the Mongolian–Soviet crew trained, between 1978 and 1981, documenting the entire preparation process through photographs.

Published Date:2026-03-24