Harrison Schmitt
Harrison Hagan "Jack" Schmitt is an American geologist, retired NASA astronaut, university professor, former U.S. senator from New Mexico, and the most recent living person to have walked on the Moon. As of 2018, he is also the last ...
Ronald Evans
Ronald Ellwin Evans Jr. was an American naval officer and aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and NASA astronaut, also one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon. Evans was selected as an astronaut by NASA as part of ...
James Irwin
James Benson "Jim" Irwin was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. Following his retirement from ...
Alfred Worden
Alfred Merrill "Al" Worden is an American astronaut and engineer who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 15 lunar mission in 1971. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon.
Viktor Patsayev
Viktor Ivanovich Patsayev (Russian: Ви́ктор Ива́нович Паца́ев; 19 June 1933 – 30 June 1971) was a Soviet cosmonaut who flew on the Soyuz 11 mission and was part of the second crew to die during a space flight. On board the space station Salyut 1 ...
Edgar Mitchell
American naval officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, Ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14, he spent nine hours working on the lunar surface in the Fra Mauro Highlands region, making him the sixth ...
Stuart Roosa
Stuart Allen "Stu" Roosa was an American aeronautical engineer, United States Air Force pilot, test pilot, and NASA astronaut, who was the Command Module Pilot for the Apollo 14 mission. The mission lasted from January 31 to February 9, ...
Alan Bean
Alan LaVern Bean was an American naval officer and naval aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and NASA astronaut; he was the fourth person to walk on the Moon. He was selected to become an astronaut by NASA in 1963 as part of Astronaut ...
What is the difference between a cosmonaut and an astronaut?
Cosmonaut and astronaut are synonyms, that is, theoretically we can use them interchangeably, but traditionally we call people launched into space by the Americans astronauts and by the Russians cosmonauts, regardless of what nationalities they were. That is, Americans, Canadians, Japanese, Italians, French and Germans flying with Americans are astronauts. In contrast, General Hermaszewski, the only (so far) Pole in Space, is called a cosmonaut because he flew as part of the Soviet space program.
