The criteria for determining who has achieved human spaceflight vary. The (FAI) defines spaceflight as any flight over , while in the United States, professional, military and commercial astronauts who travel above an altitude of are awarded astronaut wings. The majority of people who have flown into space have done so by entering Earth orbit. This list includes people meeting all three criteria, in separate subdivisions.

The flags indicate the space traveler's nationality at the time of their flight. In cases of dual citizenship, the space traveler is listed under their primary residence. A secondary list appended to the entry for the Soviet Union shows the birth countries of space travelers not born in Russia. A similar list after the entry for the United States shows the birth countries of space travelers who were citizens of the US but were born elsewhere. Flags shown in the secondary lists are those in use at the time of the space travelers' birth.

Names in italic are space travelers who are not part of any national astronaut program or astronaut corps (Toyohiro Akiyama, Helen Sharman, the Space Adventures customers and the sub-orbital SpaceShipOne and Blue Origin pilots).

Statistics , people from 47 countries have traveled in space.Other Wikipedia articles count Anousheh Ansari as an Iranian-American dual citizen; they may also consider Russia and the Soviet Union, or East, West, and even united Germany as distinct countries, resulting in counts of 40 or more countries. 637 people have reached Earth orbit. 28 people have traveled beyond low Earth orbit and either circled, orbited, or walked on the Moon.

Of the 44 countries whose citizens have traveled into Earth's orbit, 25 have flown a single space traveler, and four others (Belgium, Bulgaria, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom) have flown two each. 94% of all people to reach low Earth orbit travelers have hailed from the following eight nations:

1 Includes both national space programme activity and European Space Agency participation. 2 Includes astronauts from the Federal Republic of Germany and the German Democratic Republic. 3 Statistics for China are current as of 24 May 2026.

The number of people who have reached into space falls sharply with increasing distance from Earth. The table shows cumulative counts by maximum distance reached.

Achievement Elevation above Earth's surface (km) People Moon surface 384,000 12 Circumlunar 384,000 28 Earth orbit 200 637List of space travelers by nationality, List of space travelers by nationality. Kármán line 100 781Supercluster, Astronaut Database.

Circumlunar includes crewed flights around the Moon, whether by lunar orbit or lunar flyby. Earth orbit is represented by 200 km as a rounded low-Earth-orbit altitude; orbital flight also requires sufficient velocity to sustain an orbit.

References

Orbital space travelers

Afghanistan Abdul Ahad Mohmand (Intercosmos), first Afghan in space — Soyuz TM-6/5 (1988)

Australia Andy Thomas – STS-77 (1996) Paul Desmond Scully-Power, first Australian in space – STS-41-G (1984) Eric Philips – Fram2 (2025)

Belarus Marina Vasilevskaya, first Belarusian in space. — Soyuz MS-25/MS-24 (2024)

Brazil Marcos Pontes, first Brazilian in space, first lusophone in space, first professional astronaut officially representing a Southern Hemisphere country in space. — Soyuz TMA-8/Missão Centenário (2006)

Bulgaria Georgi Ivanov (Intercosmos), first Bulgarian in space. — Soyuz 33 (1979) Aleksandar Panayotov Aleksandrov (Intercosmos) — Soyuz TM-5/4 (1988)

Canada Marc Garneau, first Canadian in space — STS-41-G (1984), STS-77 (1996), STS-97 (2000) Roberta Bondar, first Canadian woman in space — STS-42 (1992) Steven MacLean — STS-52 (1992), STS-115 (2006) Chris Hadfield, first Canadian to walk in space — STS-74 (1995), STS-100 (2001), Soyuz TMA-07M (2012) Robert Thirsk — STS-78 (1996), Soyuz TMA-15 (2009) Bjarni Tryggvason, born in Iceland — STS-85 (1997) Julie Payette — STS-96 (1999), STS-127 (2009) Dafydd Williams — STS-90 (1998), STS-118 (2007) Guy Laliberté, space tourist — Soyuz TMA-16/14 (2009) David Saint-Jacques – Soyuz MS-11 (2018) Mark Pathy, Axiom Mission 1 (2022) Jeremy Hansen - Artemis II (2026)

NASA astronaut Andrew J. Feustel is a naturalized Canadian citizen.

China

Yang Liwei, first Chinese national in space — Shenzhou 5 (2003) Fei Junlong — Shenzhou 6 (2005), Shenzhou 15 (2022) Nie Haisheng — Shenzhou 6 (2005), Shenzhou 10 (2013), Shenzhou 12 (2021) Zhai Zhigang, first Chinese national to walk in space — Shenzhou 7 (2008), Shenzhou 13 (2021) Liu Boming — Shenzhou 7 (2008), Shenzhou 12 (2021) Jing Haipeng — Shenzhou 7 (2008), Shenzhou 9 (2012), Shenzhou 11 (2016), Shenzhou 16 (2023) Liu Wang — Shenzhou 9 (2012) Liu Yang, first Chinese woman in space — Shenzhou 9 (2012), Shenzhou 14 (2022) Wang Yaping — Shenzhou 10 (2013), Shenzhou 13 (2021) Zhang Xiaoguan — Shenzhou 10 (2013) Chen Dong — Shenzhou 11 (2016), Shenzhou 14 (2022), Shenzhou 20 (2025) Tang Hongbo — Shenzhou 12 (2021), Shenzhou 17 (2023) Ye Guangfu — Shenzhou 13 (2021), Shenzhou 18 (2024) Cai Xuzhe — Shenzhou 14 (2022), Shenzhou 19 (2024) Deng Qingming — Shenzhou 15 (2022) Zhang Lu — Shenzhou 15 (2022), Shenzhou 21 (2025) Zhu Yangzhu — Shenzhou 16 (2023), Shenzhou 23 (2026) Gui Haichao — Shenzhou 16 (2023) Tang Shengjie — Shenzhou 17 (2023) Jiang Xinlin — Shenzhou 17 (2023) Li Cong — Shenzhou 18 (2024) Li Guangsu — Shenzhou 18 (2024) Song Lingdong — Shenzhou 19 (2024) Wang Haoze — Shenzhou 19 (2024) Chen Zhongrui — Shenzhou 20 (2025) Wang Jie — Shenzhou 20 (2025) Wu Fei — Shenzhou 21 (2025) Zhang Hongzhang — Shenzhou 21 (2025) Zhang Zhiyuan — Shenzhou 23 (2026) Lai Ka-ying — Shenzhou 23 (2026)

Cuba Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez (Intercosmos), the first Cuban and the first person from a country in the Western Hemisphere other than the US to travel to space. He was also the first Hispanophone and first person of African ancestry in space. — Soyuz 38 (1980)

Czechoslovakia Vladimír Remek (Intercosmos), first Czechoslovak and first non-Soviet European in space. — Soyuz 28 (1978)

European Space Agency members

Some of these astronauts participated in national space programme activity unrelated to their home country's contemporary or subsequent membership of the European Space Agency.

Austria Franz Viehböck, first Austrian in space. — Soyuz TM-13/12 (1991)

Belgium Dirk Frimout, first Belgian in space. — STS-45 (1992) Frank De Winne, EAC — Soyuz TMA-1/TM-34 (2002), Soyuz TMA-15 (2009)

Denmark Andreas Mogensen, EAC, first Dane in space. — Soyuz TMA-18M (2015)/16M (2015), SpaceX Crew-7 (2023)

France

Jean-Loup Chrétien, CNES (Intercosmos), first French person in space and first non-Soviet European to walk in space — Soyuz T-6 (1982), Soyuz TM-7/6 (1988), STS-86 (1997) Patrick Baudry, second Frenchman in space, born in Douala, Cameroon — STS-51-G (1985) Michel Tognini, EAC — Soyuz TM-15/14 (1992), STS-93 (1999) Jean-Pierre Haigneré, EAC — Soyuz TM-17/16 (1993), Soyuz TM-29 (1999) Jean-François Clervoy, EAC — STS-66 (1994), STS-84 (1997), STS-103 (1999) Jean-Jacques Favier, born in Kehl, Germany — STS-78 (1996) Claudie André-Deshays Haigneré, EAC, first Frenchwoman in space (Mir, 1996) — Soyuz TM-24/23 (1996), Soyuz TM-33/32 (2001) Léopold Eyharts, EAC — Soyuz TM-27/26 (1998), STS-122/123 (2008) Philippe Perrin, EAC, born in Meknes, Morocco — STS-111 (2002) Thomas Pesquet, EAC — Soyuz MS-03 (2016), SpaceX Crew-2 (2021) Sophie Adenot, EAC — SpaceX Crew-12 (2026)

Germany

Sigmund Jähn (Intercosmos), first German in space — Soyuz 31/29 (1978) (flew for East Germany) Ulf Merbold, EAC — STS-9 (1983), STS-42 (1992), Soyuz TM-20/19 (1994) (flew for both West Germany and united Germany) Ernst Messerschmid — STS-61-A (1985) (flew for West Germany) Reinhard Furrer, born in Wörgl, Austria (1940–1995) — STS-61-A (1985) (flew for West Germany) Klaus-Dietrich Flade — Soyuz TM-14/13 (1992) Ulrich Walter — STS-55 (1993) Hans Schlegel, EAC — STS-55 (1993), STS-122 (2008) Reinhold Ewald, EAC — Soyuz TM-25/24 (1997) Gerhard Thiele, EAC — STS-99 (2000) Thomas Reiter, EAC, first German to walk in space and first ESA astronaut to stay on the ISS. — Soyuz TM-22 (1995), STS-121/116 (2006) Alexander Gerst, EAC — Soyuz TMA-13M (2014), Soyuz MS-09 (2018) Matthias Maurer, EAC — SpaceX Crew-3 (2021) Rabea Rogge — Fram2 (2025), first German woman in space

Hungary Bertalan Farkas (Intercosmos), first Hungarian in space. — Soyuz 36/35 (1980) Tibor Kapu, HUNOR — Axiom Mission 4 (2025)

Italy

Franco Malerba, first Italian in space. — STS-46 (1992) Maurizio Cheli, EAC — STS-75 (1996) Umberto Guidoni, EAC — STS-75 (1996), STS-100 (2001) Roberto Vittori, EAC — Soyuz TM-34/33 (2002), Soyuz TMA-6/5 (2005), STS-134 (2011) Paolo A. Nespoli, EAC — STS-120 (2007), Soyuz TMA-20 (2010), Soyuz MS-05 (2017) Luca Parmitano, EAC, first Italian to walk in space.EVA-22: Cassidy and Parmitano complete ISS spacewalk July 9, 2013 — Soyuz TMA-09M (2013), Soyuz MS-13 (2019) Samantha Cristoforetti, EAC, first Italian woman in space — Soyuz TMA-15M (2014), SpaceX Crew-4 (2022) Walter Villadei — Axiom Mission 3 (2024)

Netherlands

Wubbo Ockels, EAC, first Dutchman in space. — STS-61-A (1985) André Kuipers, EAC — Soyuz TMA-4/3 (2004), Soyuz TMA-03M (2011)

Norway Jannicke Mikkelsen, also holds British citizenship. — Fram2 (2025)

(Marcus Wandt, who went on Axiom Mission 3 in 2024, is listed under Sweden but also holds a Norwegian passport.)

Malta Chun Wang, born in Tianjin, China, also holds Saint Kitts and Nevis passport. — Fram2 (2025)

Poland Mirosław Hermaszewski (Intercosmos), first Pole in space. — Soyuz 30 (1978) Sławosz Uznański-Wiśniewski, EAC — Axiom Mission 4 (2025)

Romania Dumitru Prunariu (Intercosmos), first Romanian in space. — Soyuz 40 (1981)

Spain Pedro Duque, EAC, first Spaniard in space. — STS-95 (1998), Soyuz TMA-3/2 (2003)

Additionally, Michael López-Alegría, born in Madrid to an American mother and Spanish father who moved to California at the age of 9, holds both Spanish and American nationality. A six-time astronaut with the most recent mission in 2024, he is in the top five astronauts who have been to space most often, and has the second longest record for spacewalks, spending a total of 68 hours walking in Outer Space, which is also the longest among non-Russian astronauts and the longest in the 21st century. After retiring from NASA, López-Alegría commanded Axiom-1, the first ever all-private team of commercial astronaut mission in 2021.

Sweden Christer Fuglesang, EAC, first Swede in space. — STS-116 (2006), STS-128 (2009) Marcus Wandt, EAC — Axiom Mission 3 (2024) (Jessica Meir, who went on Soyuz MS-15 in 2019, is listed under United States but also holds a Swedish passport.)

Switzerland Claude Nicollier, EAC, first Swiss in space. — STS-46 (1992), STS-61 (1993), STS-75 (1996), STS-103 (1999)

United Kingdom Helen Sharman, Project Juno, first Briton in space. — Soyuz TM-12/11 (1991) Tim Peake, EAC, first professional British astronaut in space. — Soyuz TMA-19M (2015)

Additionally, Michael Foale was born in England to a British father and American mother. He is a dual citizen of the United Kingdom and the United States, and was raised and educated in England. He flew as a member of NASA's Astronaut Corps with dual British American citizenship. Piers Sellers, Nicholas Patrick, Richard Garriott, Marcus Wandt and Mark Shuttleworth have dual nationalities.

India Rakesh Sharma (Intercosmos), first Indian national in space. — Soyuz T-11/10 (1984) Shubhanshu Shukla (Gaganyaan) — Axiom Mission 4 (2025)

Israel Ilan Ramon (1954–2003), first Israeli in space, died on the Columbia. — STS-107 (2003) Eytan Stibbe — Axiom Mission 1 (2022)

Japan