It is located within the base of the Monument to the Conquerors of Space in the north-east of the city.

[2] The museum primarily focuses on the Soviet space program with major themes like the first person in space Yuri Gagarin, the rocket engineer Sergei Korolev, the satellite Sputnik and the spacecraft Soyuz.

On Cosmonautics Day, 2009, the museum was reopened after three years of reconstruction.

It has virtually tripled its original size and has added new sections dedicated to space programs worldwide, including the USA, Europe, China and the International Space Station.

The museum is a favourite of students worldwide and a primary tourist attraction of the city.