Today is Astronauts Day because the first 7 US astronauts were selected on this date in 1959. 10 things you might not know about astronauts.
The word astronaut comes from Greek words meaning “star” and “sailor”.
In Russia, people who travel to space are typically known as cosmonauts (from the Russian "kosmos" meaning "space". Chinese space travellers use the term taikonaut (from the Mandarin word for "space").
Since it started, NASA has selected 370 astronaut candidates: 299 men, 61 women; 212 military, 138 civilians; 191 pilots, 159 non-pilots. As of November 2024, there were 47 active astronauts and 12 management astronauts.
In 2020, eighteen astronauts (fourteen men and four women) had died during space flights. 13 were American, four were Russian (Soviet Union), and one was Israeli. 11 men had died training for spaceflight: eight Americans and three Russians. Six were in crashes of training jet aircraft, one drowned during water recovery training, and four due to fires in pure oxygen environments.
There are also a number of health risks associated with spending time in space. These include decompression sickness, barotrauma, immunodeficiencies, loss of bone and muscle, loss of eyesight, sleep disturbances and radiation injury.
In NASA’s early days, astronaut selection was limited to military pilots, often test pilots. There was also a height restriction – height had to be below 5 feet 11 inches. By 1964 the emphasis had changed to academic qualifications in the natural sciences, medicine, or engineering fields.
Training to be an astronaut takes 20 months. They are required to accumulate a number of flight hours in high-performance jet aircraft and must learn how to pilot a Space Shuttle. They train for weightlessness and space walks in water and in an aircraft. They all undergo some medical training. Astronauts aspiring to work on the International Space Station must also learn Russian so they can understand the manuals on the Russian side, and communicate with Russian ground control in an emergency.
Between 1986 and 2007, Cosmonaut survival kits included shotguns. No, not for shooting aliens! It was in case, on re-entry to Earth, they landed in some remote wilderness and might have to fend off a hungry bear.
Astronauts can grow up to 3% taller while spending time in microgravity. When they return to earth, their height returns to normal after a few months.
If you define an astronaut as anyone who has been in space, including space tourists, the astronaut is Oliver Daemen, who was 18 years and 11 months old when he made a suborbital spaceflight on Blue Origin. The oldest is William Shatner, who did the same at the age of 90.
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