<div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/russia" rel="" target="" title="Two Russian cosmonauts"><span>Two Russian cosmonauts</span></a><span> had to battle for survival after landing in </span><a href="https://travel.nine.com.au/recommended/siberian-tigers/d1abfca4-a160-4cdb-aea8-7d2bc427c571" rel="" target="" title="remote Siberia"><span>remote Siberia</span></a><span> after a historic spaceflight on </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-19-what-happened-on-this-day/358c1e71-80b5-46da-a7a5-f5a221b71dbb" rel="" target="" title="March 19, 1965"><span>March 19, 1965</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The Voskhod 2 was a massive breakthrough in space exploration, with </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/alexei-leonov-spacewalk-cosmonaut-soviet-astronaut-dies-at-85-russia-news/d5f8e261-6426-411b-a19a-2d99558a7aed" rel="" target="" title="cosmonaut Alexei Leonov"><span>cosmonaut Alexei Leonov</span></a><span> conducting the first ever spacewalk.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The spacewalk was a stunning achievement, albeit one that infuriated Leonov's own father.</span></div></div><div><div id="adspot-mobile-medium"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/yuri-gagarin-why-the-russians-wont-give-a-straight-answer-to-how-the-first-man-in-space-died/5ee254e5-d70d-4476-a22e-60ddda200056" rel="" target="" title="Why the Russians still won't say how the first man in space died"><strong><span>Why the Russians still won't say how the first man in space died</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"What is he doing clambering about outside? Somebody must tell him to get back inside immediately. He must be punished for this," the elder Leonov said.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But when he learnt the spacewalk was a planned event he was delighted.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The spacewalk was a near disaster, with Leonov's suit inflating so much that he was unable to get back inside the spacecraft.</span></div></div><div><div class="OUTBRAIN" data-reactroot="" data-src="//www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-19-what-happened-on-this-day-voskhod-2/79051106-a7f2-4209-b348-646a1fc97eed" data-widget-id="AR_5"></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Sensing something was wrong, Soviet television cut their live broadcast without explanation.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Leonov had to open a hole in his spacesuit to deflate it, putting his life at risk in order to save it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/2018/09/26/11/44/stanislav-petrov-1983-false-alarm-that-nearly-destroyed-the-world" title="The 1983 false alarm that nearly ended the world"><strong><span>The 1983 false alarm that nearly ended the world</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/yuri-gagarin-why-the-russians-wont-give-a-straight-answer-to-how-the-first-man-in-space-died/5ee254e5-d70d-4476-a22e-60ddda200056" rel="" target="" title="Returning to Earth"><span>Returning to Earth</span></a><span>, the cosmonauts realised their automatic guidance system was not working.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Running on manual control, the two landed deep in the forests of Siberia.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair were in an uninhabitable cold climate, and once they opened the hatch of the spacecraft with its explosive bolts, they were immediately exposed to the elements.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"We were only too aware that the taiga where we had landed was the habitat of </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/bears" rel="" target="" title="bears"><span>bears</span></a><span> and wolves," Leonov later wrote.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>"It was spring, the mating season, when both animals are at their most aggressive."</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-march-18-what-happened-on-this-day/f02c3791-b3fb-40ac-9f58-1b118b25ca4c"><strong><span>With a note from his father, he conducted the biggest bank heist of all time</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The spacecraft was equipped with a bespoke pistol for such a purpose. Fortunately the two did not have to use it.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>But they had no idea whether their rescue signal had been received.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>They were spotted by a helicopter hours later, but the bulkiness of their spacesuits meant they couldn't climb the rope ladder dropped down to them.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>The pair had to spend three days in the forest waiting for rescue, with temperatures </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/weather" rel="" target="" title="dropping down to -30C overnight"><span>dropping down to -30C overnight</span></a><span>.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><span>Eventually a rescue party reached them on foot, and the exhausted cosmonauts had to ski 9km to a clearing where a helicopter could land.</span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><strong><span>READ MORE:</span></strong><span> </span><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/world/today-in-history-february-20-what-happened-on-this-day-john-glenn-fireflies/171778c1-c810-40dd-b939-12761dbee841"><strong><span>Astronaut surrounded by 'fireflies' when orbiting the Earth</span></strong></a><span></span></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/today-in-history" target="" title="For more from our Today in History archive, click here."><strong><span>For more from our Today in History archive, click here</span></strong></a></div></div><div class="block-content"><div class="styles__Container-sc-1ylecsg-0 goULFa"><a href="https://www.9news.com.au/national/how-to-follow-9news-digital/29855bb1-ad3d-4c38-bc25-3cb52af1216f" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>: Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://apps.apple.com/au/app/9news/id1010533727" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Apple App Store</span></em></strong></a><span> </span><strong><em><span>and</span></em></strong><span> </span><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=nineNewsAlerts.nine.com&amp;hl=en_AU&amp;pli=1" target="_blank"><strong><em><span>Google Play</span></em></strong></a><strong><em><span>.</span></em></strong></div></div>