List of Asian astronauts explained

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

List by country


CountryAstronautsMaiden flight
Afghanistan129 August 1988
Azerbaijan121 December 1987
China2415 October 2003
Georgia17 October 2002
India43 April 1984
218 September 2006
Israel316 January 2003
Japan132 December 1990
Kazakhstan32 October 1991
Kyrgyzstan122 January 1998
Malaysia110 October 2007
Mongolia122 March 1981
Pakistan16 October 2023
Saudi Arabia317 June 1985
18 April 2008
122 July 1987
129 April 1985
Turkey218 January 2024
United Arab Emirates225 September 2019
223 July 1980
Singapore129 August 2024

Human spaceflight programs





CountryOrganisation ProgramDestination PeriodAstronauts
ChinaCNSALow Earth orbit1968–1972
ChinaCNSALow Earth orbit1992–present20
ChinaCNSALow Earth orbit1999–present19
IndiaISROLow Earth orbit2006–presentTBD
ISRCVery low Earth orbit2015–presentTBD
IndiaISROLow Earth orbit2019–presentTBD

China
Pakistan
United Arab Emirates
ILRSMoon2021–presentTBD
IndiaISROMoon2035TBD

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:

See also