Foton spacecraft are based on Russian Vostok spacecraft in which Yuri Gagarin orbited the Earth in 1961. They comprise three sections: a battery module at the front end, a spherical recoverable capsule, and a service module at the rear. ESA has been participating in Foton missions since 1991 and the Foton-M3 mission is the ninth with ESA involvement. This on display is one capsule that was on a return trip to space.