List of Asian astronauts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of astronauts, who are in a restricted sense, Asians.
If "Asian" is restricted to refer to people from the continent of Asia, exclusive of Asian Russia and Turkey, who are not of predominantly European, African, or American ancestry, then the list is as follows:
The first country listed is that of citizenship; the second, if any, is that of the Asian country of birth and/or ancestry, where different. Those of Asian ancestry but were born outside Asia are excluded.
The table lists astronauts whose origin or ancestry is in Central, East, South, Southeast, and West Asia.
List
| # | Image | Name Birth date |
Country | Notes | Missions (Launch date) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  |
Phạm Tuân February 14, 1947 |
 Vietnam |
First Vietnamese and first person of Asian origin to be in space. | Soyuz 37 (July 23, 1980) |
| 2 |  |
Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa December 5, 1947 |
 Mongolia |
First Mongolian in space. | Soyuz 39 (March 22, 1981) |
| 3 |  |
Rakesh Sharma January 13, 1949 |
 India |
First Indian in space. | Soyuz T-11/10 (April 3, 1984) |
| 4 |  |
Taylor Wang June 16, 1940 |
 United States(  Taiwan) |
First person of Chinese ancestry in space Second Asian American in space, after Ellison Onizuka |
STS-51-B (April 29, 1985) |
| 5 |  |
Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud June 27, 1956 |
 Saudi Arabia |
First Saudi and first Arab in space. | STS-51-G (June 17, 1985) |
| 6 |  |
Muhammed Faris May 26, 1951 |
 Syria |
First Syrian in space. | Soyuz TM-3/2 (July 22, 1987) |
| 7 |  |
Musa Manarov March 22, 1951 |
 Soviet Union(  Azerbaijan) |
First Azeri in space. | Soyuz TM-4 (December 21, 1987) Soyuz TM-11 (December 2, 1990) |
| 8 | Abdul Ahad Momand January 1, 1959 |
 Afghanistan |
First Afghan in space. | Soyuz TM-6/5 (August 29, 1988) | |
| 9 |  |
Toyohiro Akiyama July 22, 1942 |
 Japan |
First Japanese citizen in space. | Soyuz TM-11/10 (December 2, 1990) |
| 10 |  |
Toktar Aubakirov July 27, 1946 |
Soviet Union (  Kazakhstan) |
First ethnic Kazakh in space. | Soyuz TM-13/12 (October 2, 1991) |
| 11 |  |
Eugene Trinh September 14, 1950 |
United States (  South Vietnam) |
First Vietnamese American in space. | STS-50 (June 25, 1992) |
| 12 |  |
Mamoru Mohri January 29, 1948 |
Japan |
STS-47 (September 12, 1992) STS-99 (February 11, 2000) | |
| 13 |  |
Talgat Musabayev January 7, 1951 |
 Russia( Kazakhstan) |
Soyuz TM-19 (July 1, 1994) Soyuz TM-27 (January 29, 1998) Soyuz TM-32/31 (April 28, 2001) | |
| 14 |  |
Chiaki Mukai May 6, 1952 |
Japan |
First Japanese woman and first Asian woman in space. | STS-65 (July 8, 1994) STS-95 (October 29, 1998) |
| 15 |  |
Koichi Wakata August 1, 1963 |
Served on the ISS in Expedition 18, 19, 20, Expedition 38/39 and Expedition 68. | STS-72 (July 11, 1996) STS-92 (October 11, 2000) STS-119/127 (March 15, 2009) Soyuz TMA-11M (November 7, 2013) SpaceX Crew-5 (October 5, 2022) | |
| 16 |  |
Kalpana Chawla March 17, 1962 |
United States ( India) |
First Indian American in space. Died on the Columbia. | STS-87 (19 November 1997) STS-107 (16 January 2003) |
| 17 |  |
Takao Doi September 18, 1954 |
Japan |
First Japanese spacewalker. | STS-87 (November 19, 1997) STS-123 (March 11, 2008) |
| 18 |  |
Salizhan Sharipov August 24, 1964 |
Russia (  Kyrgyzstan) |
Of Uzbek ancestry. Served on ISS Expedition 10. | STS-89 (January 22, 1998) Soyuz TMA-5 (October 14, 2004) |
| 19 |  |
Fyodor Yurchikhin January 3, 1959 |
Russia (  Georgia) |
First Georgian in space, of Pontic Greek ancestry. Served on the ISS in Expedition 15. |
STS-112 (October 7, 2002) Soyuz TMA-10 (April 7, 2007) |
| 20 |  |
Ilan Ramon June 20, 1954 |
 Israel |
First Israeli in space. Died on the Columbia. | STS-107 (January 16, 2003) |
| 21 |  |
Yang Liwei June 21, 1965 |
 China |
First taikonaut from the People's Republic of China. First person launched by an independent spaceflight mission from Asia. |
Shenzhou 5 (October 15, 2003) |
| 22 |  |
Soichi Noguchi April 15, 1965 |
Japan |
Served on the ISS in (Expedition 22/23) and (Expedition 64/65). | STS-114 (July 26, 2005) Soyuz TMA-17 (December 20, 2009) SpaceX Crew-1 (November 16, 2020) |
| 23, 24 |  |
Fei Junlong May 5, 1965 |
China |
Shenzhou 6 (October 12, 2005) Shenzhou 15 (November 29, 2022) | |
 |
Nie Haisheng October 13, 1964 |
Shenzhou 6 (October 12, 2005) Shenzhou 10 (June 11, 2013) Shenzhou 12 (June 17, 2021) | |||
| 25 |  |
Anousheh Ansari September 12, 1966 |
United States (  Iran) |
First Iranian-American in space. | Soyuz TMA-9/8 (September 18, 2006) |
| 26 |  |
Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor July 27, 1972 |
 Malaysia |
First Malaysian in space. | Soyuz TMA-11/10 (October 10, 2007) |
| 27 |  |
Yi So-yeon June 2, 1978 |
 South Korea |
First Korean citizen in space. | Soyuz TMA-11/12 (April 8, 2008) |
| 28 |  |
Akihiko Hoshide December 28, 1968 |
Japan |
Served on the ISS in (Expedition 32/33). | STS-124 (May 31, 2008) Soyuz TMA-05M (15 July 2012) SpaceX Crew-2 (23 April 2021) |
| 29, 30, 31 |  |
Jing Haipeng October 24, 1966 |
China |
Shenzhou 7 (September 25, 2008) Shenzhou 9 (June 16, 2012) Shenzhou 11 (October 17, 2016) Shenzhou 16 (May 30, 2023) | |
 |
Liu Boming October 29, 1966 |
Shenzhou 7 (September 25, 2008) Shenzhou 12 (June 17, 2021) | |||
 |
Zhai Zhigang October 10, 1966 |
Shenzhou 7 (September 25, 2008) Shenzhou 13 (October 15, 2021) | |||
| 32 |  |
Naoko Yamazaki December 27, 1970 |
Japan |
STS-131 (April 5, 2010) | |
| 33 |  |
Satoshi Furukawa April 4, 1964 |
Served on the ISS in (Expedition 28/29). | Soyuz TMA-02M (7 June 2011) SpaceX Crew-7 (26 August 2023) | |
| 34, 35 |  |
Liu Wang 1970 |
China |
Shenzhou 9 (June 16, 2012) | |
 |
Liu Yang 1978 |
First Chinese woman in space. | |||
| 36, 37 |  |
Wang Yaping January 1988 |
First Asian female astronaut to perform a spacewalk (Shenzhou 13). | Shenzhou 10 (June 11, 2013) Shenzhou 13 (October 15, 2021) | |
 |
Zhang Xiaoguang May 1966 |
Shenzhou 10 (June 11, 2013) | |||
| 38 |  |
Kimiya Yui January 30, 1970 |
Japan |
Served on the ISS in (Expedition 44/45). | Soyuz TMA-17M (July 22, 2015) Soyuz MS-11 (August 1, 2025) |
| 39 |  |
Aidyn Aimbetov July 27, 1972 |
Kazakhstan |
Soyuz TMA-18M (September 2, 2015) | |
| 40 |  |
Takuya Onishi December 22, 1975 |
Japan |
Served on the ISS in (Expedition 48/49/72/73). | Soyuz MS-01 (July 7, 2016) SpaceX Crew-10 (March 14, 2025) |
| 41 |  |
Chen Dong December 12, 1978 |
China |
Shenzhou 11 (October 17, 2016) Shenzhou 14 (June 5, 2022) Shenzhou 20/21 (April 24, 2025) | |
| 42 |  |
Norishige Kanai December 5, 1976 |
Japan |
Served on the ISS on (Expedition 54/55). | Soyuz MS-07 (December 27, 2017) |
| 43 | .jpg) |
Hazza Al Mansouri December 13, 1983 |
 UAE |
First United Arab Emirates in space. | Soyuz MS-15/12 (September 25, 2019) |
| 44 |  |
Tang Hongbo October, 1975 |
China |
Shenzhou 12 (June 17, 2021)
Shenzhou 17 (October 26, 2023) | |
| 45 | Sirisha Bandla 1988 |
United States ( India) |
Virgin Galactic Unity 22 (July 11, 2021) | ||
| 46 |  |
Ye Guangfu September, 1980 |
China |
Shenzhou 13 (October 15, 2021) Shenzhou 18 (April 25, 2024) | |
| 47, 48 | .jpg) |
Yozo Hirano 1985 |
Japan |
Space tourist from Space Adventures First space tourists from Japan First time two Japanese people were launched together. |
Soyuz MS-20 (December 8, 2021) |
.jpg) |
Yusaku Maezawa 22 November 1975 | ||||
| 49 |  |
Eytan Stibbe January 12, 1958 |
Israel |
Space tourist from Axiom Space. First Space tourist from Israel. | Axiom Mission 1 (April 8, 2022) |
| 50 |  |
Cai Xuzhe May, 1976 |
China |
Shenzhou 14 (June 5, 2022) | |
| 51 | .jpg) |
Zhang Lu November, 1976 |
Shenzhou 15 (September 29, 2022) Shenzhou 21/22 (October 31, 2025) | ||
| 52 | .jpg) |
Deng Qingming March, 1966 |
Shenzhou 15 (September 29, 2022) | ||
| 53 |  |
Sultan Al Neyadi May 23, 1981 |
UAE |
First United Arab Emirates for long duration mission in space. | SpaceX Crew-6 (March 2, 2023) |
| 54, 55 | .jpg) |
Ali AlQarni March, 1992 |
Saudi Arabia |
First Saudi astronaut to ISS. | Axiom Mission 2 (May 21, 2023) |
.jpg) |
Rayyanah Barnawi September, 1988 |
First Saudi astronaut to ISS. First female Saudi astronaut in space. | |||
| 56, 57 |  |
Gui Haichao November, 1986 |
China |
First civilian taikonaut in space. | Shenzhou 16 (May 30, 2023) |
 |
Zhu Yangzhu September, 1986 |
||||
| 58 |  |
Namira Salim |  Pakistan |
First Pakistani in space. | Galactic 04 (October 6, 2023) |
| 59, 60 |  |
Jiang Xinlin February, 1988 |
China |
Shenzhou 17 (October 26, 2023) | |
 |
Tang Shengjie December, 1989 |
Shenzhou 17 (October 26, 2023) | |||
| 61 | .jpg) |
Alper Gezeravcı December, 1979 |
 Turkey |
First Turk in space and to ISS. | Axiom Mission 3 (January 18, 2024) |
| 62, 63 |  |
Li Cong October, 1989 |
China |
Shenzhou 18 (April 25, 2024) | |
 |
Li Guangsu July 1987 |
||||
| 64 | Gopichand Thotakura 1993 |
India |
First space tourist from India | Blue Origin NS-25 (May 19, 2024) | |
| 65 | Tuva Cihangir Atasever 1992 |
Turkey |
Galactic 07 (June 8, 2024) | ||
| 66, 67, 68 |  |
Eiman Jahangir Aug, 1980 |
United States ( Iran) |
Blue Origin NS-26 (August 29, 2024) | |
| Ephraim Rabin ? |
United States ( Israel) |
||||
| Nicolina Elrick ? |
 United Kingdom ( Singapore) |
First Singaporean permanent resident in space | |||
| 69, 70 |  |
Song Lingdong August, 1990 |
China |
Shenzhou 19 (October 29, 2024) | |
 |
Wang Haoze March 1990 |
||||
| 71 | Chun Wang 1982 |
 Saint Kitts and Nevis/ Malta ( China) |
First Asian-born in polar retrograde orbit,[1] i.e., to fly over Earth's poles. | Fram2 (March 31, 2025) | |
| 72 | .jpg) |
Amanda Nguyễn October 1991 |
United States ( South Vietnam) |
First Vietnamese American and southeast Asian American woman astronaut. |
Blue Origin NS-31 (April 14, 2025) |
| 73, 74 |  |
Chen Zhongrui August, 1990 |
China |
Shenzhou 20/21 (April 24, 2025) | |
 |
Wang Jie March 1990 |
||||
| 75 |  |
Shubhanshu Shukla 10 October 1985 |
India |
An Indian Air Force test pilot and ISRO astronaut, first Indian & South Asian to go to the ISS. | Axiom Mission 4 (25 June 2025) |
| 76, 77 |  |
H.E. Justin Sun 30 July 1999 |
Saint Kitts and Nevis ( China) |
Blue Origin NS-34 (3 August 2025) | |
| Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal 13 October 1945 |
United States ( India) | ||||
| 78 | Danna Karagussova ? |
Kazakhstan |
Blue Origin NS-36 (October 8, 2025) | ||
| 79, 80 | Wu Fei October, 1993 |
China |
Shenzhou 21/22 (October 31, 2025) | ||
| Zhang Hongzhang April 1986 |
List by country
Independent launch capability
Planned human spaceflight program
| Country | Astronauts | Maiden flight |
|---|---|---|
 Afghanistan |
1 | 29 August 1988 |
| Azerbaijan |
1 | 21 December 1987 |
| China |
30 | 15 October 2003 |
| Georgia |
1 | 7 October 2002 |
| India |
6 | 3 April 1984 |
| Iran |
2 | 18 September 2006 |
| Israel |
3 | 16 January 2003 |
| Japan |
13 | 2 December 1990 |
| Kazakhstan |
4 | 2 October 1991 |
| Kyrgyzstan |
1 | 22 January 1998 |
| Malaysia |
1 | 10 October 2007 |
| Mongolia |
1 | 22 March 1981 |
| Pakistan |
1 | 6 October 2023 |
| Saudi Arabia |
3 | 17 June 1985 |
| Syria |
1 | 22 July 1987 |
| Taiwan |
1 | 29 April 1985 |
| South Korea |
1 | 8 April 2008 |
| Turkey |
2 | 18 January 2024 |
| United Arab Emirates |
2 | 25 September 2019 |
| Vietnam |
2 | 23 July 1980 |
| Singapore |
1 | 25 February 2025 |
Human spaceflight programs
Successful
Operational
Planned
Cancelled
| Country | Organisation | Program | Destination | Period | Astronauts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| China |
CNSA | Shuguang | Low Earth orbit | 1968–1972 | N/A |
| China |
CNSA | China Manned Space Program | Low Earth orbit | 1992–present | 26 |
| China |
CNSA | Tiangong program | Low Earth orbit | 1999–present | 25 |
| India |
ISRO | Indian Human Spaceflight Programme | Low Earth orbit | 2006–present | 4 |
| Iran |
ISRC | Iranian crewed spacecraft | Very low Earth orbit | 2015–present | TBD |
| India |
ISRO | Bharatiya Antariksha Station program | Low Earth orbit | 2019–present | TBD |
Azerbaijan China Russia  Thailand Pakistan United Arab Emirates Kazakhstan |
ILRS | International Lunar Research Station | Moon | 2021–present | TBD |
Other Asian-born astronauts
Several Soviet and Russian cosmonauts of Russian ethnicity, and some American astronauts not of Asian ancestry, were born in Asian Russia and other parts of Asia:
- Born in Asian Russia — Dmitri Kondratyev, Vasili Lazarev, Alexei Leonov, Aleksandr Poleshchuk, Nikolai Rukavishnikov, Valery Ryumin, Vitali Sevastyanov, Maksim Surayev, Gherman Titov, Vladimir Titov, Pavel Vinogradov, Boris Volynov.
- Born in Kazakhstan — Yuri Lonchakov, Viktor Patsayev, Vladimir Shatalov, Aleksandr Viktorenko
- Born in Turkmenistan — Oleg Kononenko
- Born in Uzbekistan — Vladimir Dzhanibekov
- Born in China — William Anders, Shannon Lucid
- Born in Taiwan - Kjell N. Lindgren (American by nationality, and half Taiwanese)