CONTACT US

Contact Form

    News Details

    Here’s how many astronauts have gone to space and the moon
    • April 10, 2026

    Humans in space

    The Artemis capsule is expected to splashdown on Friday.

    Saturday, April 12, 1961 was the date of the first human space flight, carried out by Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet citizen. This historic event opened the way for space exploration for the benefit of all humanity.

    The United Nations declared that April 12 be International Day of Human Space Flight in 2011. Here’s a look at how many people can call themselves astronauts.

    The term “astronaut” derives from the Greek words meaning “star sailor,” and refers to all who have been launched as crew members aboard spacecraft bound for orbit and beyond. The four Artemis II astronauts came back to earth Friday but there are still 10 other astronauts in space right now. Three Russians (on ISS – Soyuz ms-28), four on the International Space Station – (SpaceX Crew-12) and three from China (aboard the Tiangong station – Shenzhou 21).

    The title astronaut has been a topic of debate over the years. Early pilots on SR-71 missions (16 miles high) to the edge of Earth’s atmosphere are considered astronauts by some. In 1960 no one had ever traveled beyond Earth. Now more than 700 people have flown past the 50-mile-high mark that was considered the boundary of space.

    The number of astronauts peaked in the 1990s, when NASA flew an average of six space shuttle missions a year, usually carrying five to seven astronauts. The first shuttle launched in 1981, but the program took a long hiatus after the Challenger disaster in 1986. In 2003, the shuttle fleet took a two-year break after Columbia broke up on its return trip to Earth.

    The first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station, Axiom Mission 1, was in April 2022.

    On Nov. 2, 2025, NASA honored 25 years of continuous human presence aboard the International Space Station.

    According to whoisinspace.com, a total of 791 humans have become astronauts. The four Artemis II crew members raised the total of people to go to the moon to 28, with only 12 people who walked on it.

     

    Sources: NASA, whoisinspace.com, Smithsonian, Space.com, Scientific American, Space Foundation

     Orange County Register 

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    News