Countries Whose Citizens Have Been To Space

Map created by MapsinterludeThe map above shows the 48 countries (49 if you count the USSR) whose citizens have been to space.

However, only the United States (both via NASA and private businesses), Russia and China currently have the ability to send people into space.

And here’s another interesting fact:

People trained for spaceflight are called astronauts (American or other), cosmonauts (Russian), or taikonauts (Chinese); and non-professionals are referred to as spaceflight participants or spacefarers.

Below is the full list of when each country had their first citizen sent into space. You can also see a List of space travelers by nationality here.

No.	Country	Name	Flight	Date (UTC)
1960s
1	Soviet Union*	Yuri Gagarin	Soviet Union Vostok 1	12 April 1961
2	United States	Alan Shepard	United States MR-3	5 May 1961
1970s
3	Czechoslovakia	Vladimír Remek	Soviet Union Soyuz 28	2 March 1978
4	Poland	Mirosław Hermaszewski	Soviet Union Soyuz 30	27 June 1978
5	East Germany**	Sigmund Jähn	Soviet Union Soyuz 31	26 August 1978
6	Bulgaria	Georgi Ivanov	Soviet Union Soyuz 33	10 April 1979
1980s
7	Hungary	Bertalan Farkas	Soviet Union Soyuz 36	26 May 1980
8	Vietnam	Phạm Tuân	Soviet Union Soyuz 37	23 July 1980
9	Cuba	Arnaldo Tamayo Méndez	Soviet Union Soyuz 38	18 September 1980
10	Mongolia	Jügderdemidiin Gürragchaa	Soviet Union Soyuz 39	22 March 1981
11	Romania	Dumitru Prunariu	Soviet Union Soyuz 40	14 May 1981
12	France	Jean-Loup Chrétien	Soviet Union Soyuz T-6	24 June 1982
13	West Germany	Ulf Merbold	United States STS-9	28 November 1983
14	India	Rakesh Sharma	Soviet Union Soyuz T-11	3 April 1984
15	Canada	Marc Garneau	United States STS-41-G	5 October 1984
16	Saudi Arabia	Sultan al-Saud	United States STS-51-G	17 June 1985
17	Netherlands	Wubbo Ockels	United States STS-61-A	30 October 1985
18	Mexico	Rodolfo Neri Vela	United States STS-61-B	26 November 1985
19	Syria	Muhammed Faris	Soviet Union Soyuz TM-3	22 July 1987
20	Afghanistan	Abdul Ahad Momand	Soviet Union Soyuz TM-6	29 August 1988
1990s
21	Japan	Toyohiro Akiyama	Soviet Union Soyuz TM-11	2 December 1990
22	United Kingdom	Helen Sharman	Soviet Union Soyuz TM-12	18 May 1991
23	Austria	Franz Viehböck	Soviet Union Soyuz TM-13	2 October 1991
24	Russia*	Aleksandr Kaleri Aleksandr Viktorenko	Russia Soyuz TM-14	17 March 1992
25	Belgium	Dirk Frimout	United States STS-45	24 March 1992
26	Italy	Franco Malerba	United States STS-46	31 July 1992
27	Switzerland	Claude Nicollier
28	Ukraine	Leonid Kadenyuk	United States STS-87	19 November 1997
29	Spain	Pedro Duque	United States STS-95	29 October 1998
30	Slovakia	Ivan Bella	Russia Soyuz TM-29	20 February 1999
2000s
31	South Africa	Mark Shuttleworth	Russia Soyuz TM-34	25 April 2002
32	Israel	Ilan Ramon***	United States STS-107	16 January 2003
33	China	Yang Liwei	China Shenzhou 5	15 October 2003
34	Brazil	Marcos Pontes	Russia Soyuz TMA-8	30 March 2006
35	Iran	Anousheh Ansari****	Russia Soyuz TMA-9	18 September 2006
36	Sweden	Christer Fuglesang	United States STS-116	10 December 2006
37	Malaysia	Sheikh Muszaphar Shukor	Russia Soyuz TMA-11	10 October 2007
38	South Korea	Yi So-yeon	Russia Soyuz TMA-12	8 April 2008
2010s
39	Denmark	Andreas Mogensen	Russia Soyuz TMA-18M	2 September 2015
40	Kazakhstan	Aidyn Aimbetov
41	United Arab Emirates	Hazza Al Mansouri	Russia Soyuz MS-15	25 September 2019
2020s
42	Australia	Chris Boshuizen	United States Blue Origin NS-18	13 October 2021
43	Portugal	Mário Ferreira	United States Blue Origin NS-22	4 August 2022
44	Egypt	Sara Sabry
45	Antigua and Barbuda	Keisha Schahaff Anastatia Mayers	United States Galactic 02	10 August 2023
46	Pakistan	Namira Salim	United States Galactic 04	6 October 2023
47	Turkey	Alper Gezeravcı	United States Axiom Mission 3	18 January 2024
48	Norway Norway (Dual Swedish/Norwegian citizenship)	Marcus Wandt	United States Axiom Mission 3	18 January 2024
49	Belarus	Marina Vasilevskaya	Russia Soyuz MS-25	23 March 2024

* The first cosmonaut, Yuri Gagarin, held citizenship in both the Soviet Union and the Russian SFSR, according to the applicable provisions of the Constitution of the Soviet Union. On 26 December 1991, the Soviet Union dissolved, and was replaced by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan; Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania restored their independence. At the time of the dissolution, Sergei Krikalev and Alexander Volkov were orbiting Earth on Mir, having been launched into orbit as Soviet citizens, and having returned to the Earth as Russian citizens. Aleksandr Kaleri and Aleksandr Viktorenko were the first Russians to be launched into orbit as Russian citizens only, their launch having occurred subsequent to the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

** In 1978, both Jähn himself and the German Democratic Republic pronounced him the “first German in space”, rather than the first “citizen of the German Democratic Republic in space”. In 1990, the states of the former East Germany acceded to the Federal Republic of Germany. On 22 January 1992, Ulf Merbold again traveled into space, now representing the reunited Germany within the Federal Republic of Germany. Jähn is, nevertheless, still considered the first German in space, even in the states of the Federal Republic of Germany that comprised the former West Germany.

*** Ilan Ramon was the first Israeli to go into space, but Ramon died during reentry during the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster. His close friend and colleague, Eytan Stibbe, would later become the first Israeli to return from space alive, with the splashdown of Axiom-1 on 25 April 2022.

**** Although recognized as an Iranian citizen by Iranian law, Ansari is also an American citizen and was prohibited from wearing Iranian state symbols by both the United States and Russian governments.

Who gets to choose who flies in space?

Here’s a breakdown of the different approaches taken by the United States, the Soviet Union/Russia, and China:

United States and Soviet Union/Russia

1. Diplomacy and International Cooperation:
   • Political Leverage: Both the United States and the Soviet Union used spaceflight as a tool of soft power during and after the Cold War. By including astronauts and cosmonauts from allied or partner nations, they could strengthen political and diplomatic ties.
   • International Programs:
     • Soviet Interkosmos Program: This initiative allowed cosmonauts from Soviet allies (and later from other friendly or non-aligned countries) to participate in space missions. It was a way to showcase technological prowess and solidarity among socialist and allied nations.
     • International Space Station (ISS): The U.S., Russia, and other international partners have collaborated on the ISS since the late 1990s. This cooperative project inherently involves sharing resources, expertise, and even crew positions, which naturally leads to non-national astronauts flying on missions.
2. Economic and Commercial Considerations:
   • Revenue Generation: Especially in the post-Soviet era, Russia began offering seats on its Soyuz spacecraft to private individuals (often referred to as space tourists) and representatives from countries without their own human spaceflight programs. This provided an additional revenue stream.
   • Commercial Partnerships: The U.S. has seen an increasing role for commercial companies (like SpaceX and Boeing) in human spaceflight. This commercialization opens opportunities for international customers and private citizens to participate, under agreements that include foreign nationals.
3. Scientific and Technological Collaboration:
   • Shared Research Benefits: International crew members bring diverse expertise and perspectives, which can enhance scientific research and technology development aboard spacecraft and space stations.
   • Pooling of Resources: Collaborative missions allow countries to share the high costs and risks of space exploration, leading to more ambitious projects than any single nation might pursue alone.

Why China Has Not Followed Suit

1. Program Philosophy and National Priorities:
   • National Prestige and Sovereignty: China’s human spaceflight program (such as the Shenzhou missions and the development of its own space station, Tiangong) is largely seen as a symbol of national pride and technological independence. The program is designed to showcase China’s own capabilities rather than to serve as a platform for international cooperation.
   • Control Over Mission Parameters: By keeping the crew strictly Chinese, the Chinese government maintains full control over mission objectives, training, and technology without the added complexity of managing international personnel.
2. Geopolitical and Strategic Considerations:
   • Cautious International Engagement: While China is increasingly active in global space initiatives, its overall approach tends to be more cautious regarding technology transfer and collaboration. Allowing foreign astronauts onboard could be seen as a risk to proprietary technology and sensitive information.
   • Existing Diplomatic Tensions: The U.S. and some other countries have regulatory measures (such as the Wolf Amendment in the U.S.) that restrict cooperation with China’s space program. This lack of a robust international framework for collaboration may partly explain why China has not yet invited non-Chinese crew members.
3. Stage of Program Development:
   • Relative Maturity: China’s human spaceflight program is newer compared to those of the U.S. and Russia. As it matures and its international partnerships evolve, there might be future opportunities for collaboration that could include foreign astronauts. However, for now, the focus remains on developing and demonstrating its own capabilities.

Would you fly into space if you could?