Famous Astronauts

Neil Armstrong, a figure in space exploration history, was born August 5, 1930, in Wapakoneta, Ohio. His path to becoming the first man on the moon started as a childhood fascination with aviation. This passion led him to get his student pilot's license before he could drive. He sharpened his piloting skills while getting an aeronautical engineering degree from Purdue University. Afterward, he served in the Korean War as a naval aviator, flying 78 combat missions. Armstrong's space trip began when he j

Buzz Aldrin, Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr., is an American astronaut and mechanical engineer who made big contributions to space exploration history. Aldrin was born January 20, 1930, in Montclair, New Jersey. He graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point and later earned a doctorate in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Aldrin gained attention when he joined NASA's Astronaut Group 3 in 1963. His first spaceflight happened in 1966 aboard Gemini 12. There, he set a record for extravehicular activity and showed that a

Sally Ride was an American actress and producer. She appeared in "Touched By an Angel" and "Spaceflight."

Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin (March 9, 1934 – March 27, 1968) was a Soviet Air Forces pilot and cosmonaut. He became the first human to travel into outer space, marking a major moment in the Space Race. His capsule, Vostok 1, completed one orbit of Earth on April 12, 1961. Gagarin became an international celebrity. He earned many medals and titles, including Hero of the Soviet Union, his nation's top honor. Gagarin was born in the village of Klushino near a town later named after him. In his youth, Gagarin worked as a foundryman at a steel plant in Lyubertsy. He later joined the Soviet Air Forces as a

John Herschel Glenn Jr. (July 18, 1921 – December 8, 2016) was a United States Marine Corps aviator, engineer, astronaut, businessman, and politician. He became the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times in 1962. After leaving NASA, he served from 1974 to 1999 as a Democratic United States Senator from Ohio. He flew into space again in 1998 at age 77. Before NASA, Glenn was a skilled fighter pilot in World War II, China, and Korea. He shot down three MiG-15s and received six Distinguished Flying Crosses and eighteen Air Medals. In 1957, he mad

Charles "Pete" Conrad Jr. (June 2, 1930 – July 8, 1999), a USN Captain, was an American NASA astronaut, aeronautical engineer, naval officer, aviator, and test pilot. During the Apollo 12 mission, Conrad became the third person to walk on the Moon. NASA selected Conrad for its second astronaut class. Conrad set an eight-day space endurance record with Command Pilot Gordon Cooper on the Gemini 5 mission. Conrad also commanded the Gemini 11 mission. After Apollo, he commanded Skylab 2, the first.

Virgil Ivan "Gus" Grissom (April 3, 1926 – January 27, 1967) was one of the seven original National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury astronauts. Grissom was the first of the Mercury Seven to die. He also flew on Project Gemini and the Apollo program. Grissom was the second American to fly in space and the first NASA Astronaut Corps member to fly twice. Grissom was a World War II and Korean War veteran, a U.S. Air Force test pilot, and a mechanical engineer. He received the Distinguished Flying Cross and the Air Medal with an oak leaf.

Rear Admiral Alan Bartlett Shepard Jr. (November 18, 1923 – July 21, 1998) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot, and businessman. In 1961, Shepard became the first American to travel into space. In 1971, he walked on the Moon. Shepard graduated from the United States Naval Academy at Annapolis. Shepard saw action with the surface navy during World War II. He became a naval aviator in 1946 and a test pilot in 1950. NASA selected Shepard as one of the original Mercury Seven astronauts in 1959. In May 1961, Shepard made the first crewed Project Mercury flight, MR-3, in a spacecraft he named Fre.

James Lovell was a hero in the American space program. Lovell piloted NASA's Gemini 7 mission and commanded Gemini 12. He faced his biggest challenge as commander of Apollo 13. Lovell returned safely to Earth after a system failure nearly killed everyone aboard the craft. Lovell's actions on the Apollo 13 mission formed the basis for Ron Howard's 1994 Oscar-winning film of the same name. This preserved Lovell's status as a top figure in space program history, a status he held since 1962.

William Reid Pogue (January 23, 1930 – March 3, 2014), a USAF Colonel, was an American astronaut, U.S. Air Force fighter pilot, and test pilot. Pogue also taught, spoke publicly, and wrote books. Born and educated in Oklahoma, Pogue graduated from college and served 24 years in the United States Air Force. Pogue flew combat during the Korean War with the elite USAF Thunderbirds. He served as a flight instructor and mathematics professor, and served as a versatile test pilot, including two years with the RAF (UK). Colonel Pogue was an Air Force inst

Mae Carol Jemison, an American engineer, physician, and former NASA astronaut, was born October 17, 1956. She became the first Black woman in space as a mission specialist on the Space Shuttle Endeavour. Jemison joined NASA's astronaut corps in 1987. She served on the STS-47 mission, orbiting Earth for nearly eight days from September 12–20, 1992. Jemison grew up in Alabama and Chicago. She earned degrees from Stanford University in chemical engineering and African and African-American studies.

Franklin Story Musgrave, M.D., born August 19, 1935, is an American physician and a retired NASA astronaut. He acts as a public speaker and consultant for Disney's Imagineering group and Applied Minds in California. In 1996, Musgrave became the second astronaut to complete six spaceflights. He holds six academic degrees, making him the most formally educated astronaut. Musgrave is the only astronaut to fly on all five Space Shuttles.

Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt, born July 3, 1935, is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, and former U.S. senator from New Mexico. As a crew member of Apollo 17, Schmitt was the last living person to walk on the Moon. In December 1972, Schmitt became the first member of NASA's first scientist-astronaut group to fly in space during Apollo 17. Since Apollo 17 was the final Apollo mission, Schmitt became the twelfth and second-youngest person to step on the Moon and the second-to-last person to leave it.

Judith Arlene Resnik (April 5, 1949 – January 28, 1986) was an American electrical engineer, software engineer, biomedical engineer, pilot, and NASA astronaut. Resnik died when the Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart during the launch of mission STS-51-L. Resnik was the second American woman in space and the fourth woman in space globally, logging 145 hours in orbit. She was the first Jewish American in space and the first Jewish woman of any nationality in space. The IEEE Judith Resnik Award for space engineering honors her.

Ronald Erwin McNair (October 21, 1950 – January 28, 1986) was an American NASA astronaut and physicist. He died during the Space Shuttle Challenger launch on mission STS-51-L. He served as one of three mission specialists in a crew of seven. In 1976, McNair earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Michael Feld guided his work, making him nationally known for laser physics. In 1978, McNair joined the NASA astronaut program. He was selected from ten thousand applicants to join thirty-five others.

Guion Stewart Bluford Jr., Ph.D. (born November 22, 1942), (Col, USAF, Ret.), is an American aerospace engineer. He is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and fighter pilot. He was a former NASA astronaut. Guion Bluford Jr. is the first African American and the second person of African descent to go to space. Before becoming an astronaut, he served as an officer in the U.S. Air Force. He stayed in the Air Force while assigned to NASA, reaching the rank of colonel. He took part in four Space Shuttle flights between 1983 and 1992. In 1983, as a crew member on the Orbiter Challenger for mission STS-8, he became the first African American astronaut.

Eileen Marie Collins (born November 19, 1956) is a retired NASA astronaut and a retired United States Air Force colonel. Collins served as a former military instructor and test pilot. She was the first female pilot and the first female commander of a Space Shuttle. She earned several medals for her work. Colonel Collins logged 38 days, 8 hours, and 20 minutes in outer space. Collins retired on May 1, 2006, to pursue private interests, including serving on the board of USAA.

Kalpana Chawla (March 17, 1962 – February 1, 2003) was an American astronaut, engineer, and the first woman of Indian descent to go to space. She first flew on Space Shuttle Columbia in 1997 as a mission specialist and primary robotic arm operator. In 2003, Chawla was one of seven crew members who died in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster when the spacecraft broke apart during re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. Congress posthumously awarded her the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Many streets, universities, and institutions now bear her name.

Carlos Ismael Noriega (born 1959) is a Peruvian and U.S. citizen. He worked for NASA. Noriega was a former NASA astronaut and a retired U.S. Marine Corps lieutenant colonel.

Frank Frederick Borman II (March 14, 1928 - November 7, 2023) was an American retired United States Air Force (USAF) colonel, aeronautical engineer, NASA astronaut, test pilot, and businessman. Borman commanded Apollo 8, the first mission to circle the Moon. He, along with crewmates Jim Lovell and William Anders, became the first of 24 humans to do this. He received the Congressional Space Medal of Honor for this achievement.

Peggy Annette Whitson (born February 9, 1960) is an American biochemistry researcher, retired NASA astronaut, and former NASA Chief Astronaut. Her first space mission occurred in 2002. She spent an extended time on the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 5. Her second mission launched October 10, 2007, making her the first female commander of the ISS for Expedition 16. Whitson completed her third long-duration space flight. She commanded the International Space Station for Expedition 51 before passing command to Fyodor Yurchikhin on June 1, 2017. The Space Shuttle flight...

Walter Marty Schirra Jr. (March 12, 1923 – May 3, 2007), Captain, USN, Ret., was an American naval aviator and NASA astronaut. In 1959, he joined the original seven astronauts for Project Mercury, the United States' first human space effort. On October 3, 1962, he flew the six-orbit, nine-hour Mercury-Atlas 8 mission in a spacecraft he called Sigma 7. During his Sigma 7 mission, Schirra became the fifth American and ninth human to travel into space. In the Gemini two-man program, he accomplished the first space rendezvous and station-keeping.

Franklin Ramón Chang Díaz (April 5, 1950) is a Costa Rican American mechanical engineer, physicist, and former NASA astronaut. He founded and currently leads Ad Astra Rocket Company and sits on Cummins' board of directors. He became an American citizen in 1977. He has Costa Rican Spanish (maternal) and Chinese (paternal) ancestry. Chang Díaz completed seven Space Shuttle missions, setting the record for most spaceflights as of 2018, a record held by Jerry L. Ross. He was the third Latin American but the first Latin American immigrant NASA Astronaut selected for a flight.

Roberta Bondar (born December 4, 1945) is Canada's first female astronaut and the first neurologist in space. After leading an international space medicine research team with NASA for over ten years, Bondar became a consultant and speaker for business, science, and medical groups. She earned many honors, including Companion of the Order of Canada, the Order of Ontario, the NASA Space Medal, over 28 honorary degrees, induction into the Canadian Medical Hall of Fame, and induction into the International Women's Forum Hall of Fame. She has her own star on Canada's Walk of Fame.

Lisa Marie Nowak (née Caputo, born May 10, 1963) is an American former naval flight officer and NASA astronaut. Born in Washington, D.C., NASA selected her in 1996 and qualified her as a mission specialist in robotics. Nowak flew aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during the STS-121 mission in July 2006. She operated the shuttle's robotic arms and the International Space Station. On February 5, 2007, she was arrested in Orlando, Florida, and faced charges for attempting to kidnap U.S. Air Force Captain Colleen Shipman, with whom she had a romantic relationship.

Anousheh Ansari (Persian: Anuŝe Ansāri‎; née Raissyan; born September 12, 1966) is an Iranian-American engineer and co-founder and chairwoman of Prodea Systems. Her prior business work includes co-founding and serving as CEO of Telecom Technologies, Inc. (TTI). The Ansari family also sponsors the Ansari X Prize. On September 18, 2006, a few days after her 40th birthday, she became the first Iranian in space. Ansari was the fourth self-funded space tourist overall and the first self-funded woman to fly to the International Space Station. Her memoir is My Dream of Stars.

Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, and United States Air Force pilot. He became the youngest of the seven original astronauts for Project Mercury, the first manned space program of the United States. Cooper learned to fly as a child. After service in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, he joined the United States Air Force in 1949. Cooper qualified as a test pilot in 1956. In 1959, he was selected as an astronaut. Cooper piloted the longest and last Mercury mission in 1963.

Sunita Pandya Lyn Williams, born September 19, 1965, is an American astronaut and United States Navy officer of Indo-Slovenian descent. Williams held the records for most spacewalks by a woman (seven) and the most spacewalk time by a woman (50 hours, 40 minutes). Williams joined the International Space Station as a member of Expedition 14 and Expedition 15. In 2012, she served as a flight engineer on Expedition 32 and then commander of Expedition 33.

Joseph Albert Walker (February 20, 1921 – June 8, 1966), a Capt, USAF, was an American World War II pilot, experimental physicist, NASA test pilot, and astronaut. Walker flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane jointly operated by the Air Force and NASA. In 1963, Walker made three flights over 50 miles, qualifying him as an astronaut by the United States definition of space. X-15 Flights 90 and 91 also crossed the Kármán line, the 100-kilometer (62.14 miles) boundary.

Jeffrey Shears "Bones" Ashby, born June 16, 1954, is an American mechanical engineer, former naval officer and aviator, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. Ashby served on three Space Shuttle missions. He retired as a Captain in the U.S. Navy. He now works for Blue Origin as chief of mission assurance.

Gregory Errol Chamitoff, born August 6, 1962, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, is an engineer and former NASA astronaut. Chamitoff visited space twice. He spent six months aboard the ISS during Expedition 17 and 18 in 2008. He flew for 15 days as part of STS-134 in 2011. STS-134 marked the final Space Shuttle Endeavour flight. That mission delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and finished the US Orbital Segment.

Robert Henry Lawrence Jr., born October 2, 1935, and died December 8, 1967, was a United States Air Force officer. He became the first African-American astronaut.

Frank, Viscount De Winne, born April 25, 1961, in Ledeberg, Belgium, is a Belgian Air Component officer and an ESA astronaut. De Winne is Belgium's second person in space, following Dirk Frimout. He became the first ESA astronaut to command a space mission as commander of ISS Expedition 21. ESA astronaut de Winne currently heads the European Astronaut Centre of the European Space Agency in Cologne/Germany (Köln).

Robert Brent "Bob" Thirsk, born August 17, 1953, is a Canadian engineer and physician. He was a former Canadian Space Agency astronaut. Thirsk holds the Canadian record for the most time in space: 204 days 18 hours. He received the Order of Canada (OC) in 2013 and the Order of British Columbia (OBC) in 2012.

Chris Austin Hadfield, born August 29, 1959, is a Canadian retired astronaut, engineer, and former Royal Canadian Air Force fighter pilot. Hadfield walked in space first as a Canadian. He flew two Space Shuttle missions and commanded the International Space Station. Raised on a farm in southern Ontario, Hadfield watched the Apollo 11 Moon landing on TV, which inspired him as a child. He attended high school in Oakville and Milton and earned his glider pilot license with the Royal Canadian Air Cadets. He joined the Canadian Armed Forces and became an engineer.

Edwin Jacob "Jake" Garn, born October 12, 1932, is an American astronaut, politician, and Republican Party member. Garn served as a U.S. Senator for Utah from 1974 to 1993. Garn became the first sitting member of the United States Congress to fly in space. He flew aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery as a Payload Specialist during NASA mission STS-51-D, which ran from April 12 to 19, 1985.

Prof. Dr. Reinhard Alfred Furrer, born November 25, 1940, died September 9, 1995, was a German physicist and astronaut. Furrer was born in Wörgl, Ostmark (now Austria). After World War II, his father was expelled from Austria. The family moved to Kempten im Allgäu, Bavaria, and stayed there until Furrer joined the University of Kiel to study physics. He moved to the Free University of Berlin later, earning a diploma in 1969 and a doctorate in 1972. As a student in Berlin, Furrer worked on building the 145 m long "Tunnel 57" beneath the Berlin W.

Ronnie Walter Cunningham, born March 16, 1932, is a retired American astronaut. In 1968, he piloted a Lunar Module on the Apollo 7 mission. Cunningham was NASA's third civilian astronaut, following Neil Armstrong and Elliot See. He also served as a fighter pilot, physicist, entrepreneur, venture capitalist, and author of The All-American Boys.

William Alison Anders, born October 17, 1933, died June 7, 2024, was an American United States Air Force (USAF) major general, electrical engineer, nuclear engineer, NASA astronaut, and businessman. In December 1968, Anders was a crew member on Apollo 8. He was one of the first three people to leave low Earth orbit and travel to the Moon. Anders circled the Moon ten times with fellow astronauts Frank Borman and Jim Lovell, broadcasting live images and commentary back to Earth. During one of the mission's lunar orbits, Anders photographed the Earthrise. Apart from his professional and military

Ellen O. Ochoa, born May 10, 1958, is an American engineer, former astronaut, and former Director of the Johnson Space Center. Michael Coats retired on December 31, 2012, and Ochoa became director then. In 1993, Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman in space, serving on a nine-day mission aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.

Barbara Radding Morgan, born November 28, 1951, is an American teacher and former NASA astronaut. She helped the Teacher in Space program as backup for Christa McAuliffe during the 1986 STS-51-L Space Shuttle Challenger mission. Morgan then trained as a Mission Specialist and flew on STS-118 in August 2007.

Rakesh Sharma, born January 13, 1949, is a former Indian Air Force pilot. Sharma flew aboard Soyuz T-11, launched April 2, 1984, for the Interkosmos program. Sharma remains the first and only Indian citizen to travel in space to date; other Indian origin cosmonauts and astronauts exist.

Garrett Erin Reisman, born February 10, 1968, is an American engineer and former NASA astronaut. Reisman served as backup crew for Expedition 15 and briefly joined Expedition 16 on the International Space Station before joining Expedition 17. He returned to Earth June 14, 2008, aboard Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-124. Reisman was part of the STS-132 mission, which traveled to the International Space Station aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis from May 14 to 26, 2010. Reisman now directs Space Operations at SpaceX and teaches Astronautics Practice at th.

James Hansen Newman, Ph.D., born October 16, 1956, is an American physicist and former NASA astronaut. Newman flew on four Space Shuttle missions.

Alexei Arkhipovich Leonov (Russian: Алексе́й Архи́пович Лео́нов, IPA: [ɐlʲɪˈksʲej ɐˈrxʲipəvʲɪtɕ lʲɪˈonəf]), born May 30, 1934, is a retired Soviet/Russian cosmonaut, Air Force Major general, writer, and artist. On March 18, 1965, Leonov became the first person to perform extravehicular activity (EVA), exiting the capsule during the Voskhod 2 mission for a 12-minute spacewalk. In July 1975, Leonov commanded the Soyuz capsule in the Soyuz-Apollo mission, which docked in space with an American Apollo capsule for two days.

Edward George Gibson, born November 8, 1936, is a former NASA astronaut, pilot, engineer, and physicist. Before becoming an astronaut, Gibson graduated from the University of Rochester and the California Institute of Technology. Gibson worked as a research assistant in jet propulsion while studying and later became a research scientist for Philco Corporation until joining NASA in 1965. NASA selected Gibson for Astronaut Group 4, the first group of scientist-astronauts. Gibson served on the support crew for Apollo 12, the second Moon landing mission, before working on the dev

Thomas Patten Stafford, born September 17, 1930, served as an American Air Force officer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut. After the U.S. Naval Academy, Stafford commissioned in the USAF, flying the F-86 Sabre before becoming a test pilot. NASA selected him as an astronaut in 1962. Stafford flew on Gemini 6A and Gemini 9. In 1969, Stafford commanded Apollo 10, the second crewed mission to orbit the Moon and the first to fly a Lunar Module in lunar orbit, descending to nine miles. In 1975, Stafford was

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian: Валентина Владимировна Терешкова, IPA: [vɐlʲɪnʲˈtʲinə vlɐˈdʲimʲɪrəvnə tʲɪrʲɪʂˈkovə] (listen); born 6 March 1937) is a member of the Russian State Duma, an engineer, and a former cosmonaut. She became the first and youngest woman to fly solo in space on Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963. Tereshkova orbited the Earth 48 times and spent nearly three days in space; she remains the only woman on a solo space mission. Before joining the Soviet space program, Tereshkova worked at a textile factory and skied as an amateur.

Shannon Matilda Wells Lucid, born January 14, 1943, is an American biochemist and a retired NASA astronaut. Lucid held the record for the longest time spent in space by an American and by a woman. She flew in space five times, including a long mission aboard the Mir space station in 1996; she is the only American woman aboard Mir. Discover magazine named Lucid one of the 50 most important women in science in 2002.

Umberto Guidoni, born August 18, 1954, in Rome, is an Italian astrophysicist, science writer, and a former ESA astronaut. Guidoni became the first European to visit the International Space Station. He was a veteran of two NASA space shuttle missions. Guidoni served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) from 2004 to 2009, elected within the Party of Italian Communists.