Astronauts and cosmonauts What Are The Differences
Basically the terms astronauts and cosmonauts have same meaning which is a person going into space. The only distinction that is usually seen between the two is the country of origin, as well as the program that they belong to.
Astronauts are those people who are involved in space program of USA which is known as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). They are involved in performing missions that include carrying out exploration of space’s abyss, upholding scientific research, and even fixing space crafts.
On the other hand, cosmonaut is a person that is trained at the Russian space program which is under Roscosmos organization. They have the duty of performing assignments which are concerned with space flight, science investigation, care for orbiting craft, and repair of space vehicles.
While today we mainly hear of astronauts and cosmonauts, these two words actually have their roots with each other. The word “astronaut” is a combination of “astron” the Greek word for star and “nautes”, which means sailor. The term cosmonaut is derived from two words that are; “cosm/ cosmo” which is a Russian word that translates to space and “naut” which translates to sailor.
Thus, one can understand that both astronauts and cosmonauts are professionals who participate in the space missions of their state, but if the astronaut is an American, then the cosmonaut will be a Soviet citizen.
Astronauts are those people who are involved in space program of USA which is known as NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration). They are involved in performing missions that include carrying out exploration of space’s abyss, upholding scientific research, and even fixing space crafts.
On the other hand, cosmonaut is a person that is trained at the Russian space program which is under Roscosmos organization. They have the duty of performing assignments which are concerned with space flight, science investigation, care for orbiting craft, and repair of space vehicles.
While today we mainly hear of astronauts and cosmonauts, these two words actually have their roots with each other. The word “astronaut” is a combination of “astron” the Greek word for star and “nautes”, which means sailor. The term cosmonaut is derived from two words that are; “cosm/ cosmo” which is a Russian word that translates to space and “naut” which translates to sailor.
Thus, one can understand that both astronauts and cosmonauts are professionals who participate in the space missions of their state, but if the astronaut is an American, then the cosmonaut will be a Soviet citizen.
Astronauts and cosmonauts are both trained professionals who travel into space, but the term "astronaut" is used by NASA for American space travelers, while the term "cosmonaut" is used by the Russian space program for their space travelers. So, the main difference is in the terminology used by their respective space agencies.
What’s the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut?
Just as the main difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut lies in the country the person represents and the particular space agency he or she belongs to.
Astronauts refer to people in the space or those involved in the America Space program which is headed by NASA. Space agencies are tasked with performing missions such as exploration of space, scientific investigation and servicing and repair of spacecrafts.
Cosmonauts on the other hand are people who are involved in the Russian space missions which is run under Roscosmos which is the Russian space agency. They are assigned tasks involving mission to explore space, scientific investigation and repairing or even constructing space vehicles.
Training is another aspect that both the astronauts and the cosmonauts undergo in their various programs to equip them with tones of handling what they encounter in space, like microgravity, radiation among others risks such as the feeling of isolation that comes with being in space for an elongated period. However one can assume that there could be variations in the details of their training courses based on their spacecraft organization.
Astronauts refer to people in the space or those involved in the America Space program which is headed by NASA. Space agencies are tasked with performing missions such as exploration of space, scientific investigation and servicing and repair of spacecrafts.
Cosmonauts on the other hand are people who are involved in the Russian space missions which is run under Roscosmos which is the Russian space agency. They are assigned tasks involving mission to explore space, scientific investigation and repairing or even constructing space vehicles.
Training is another aspect that both the astronauts and the cosmonauts undergo in their various programs to equip them with tones of handling what they encounter in space, like microgravity, radiation among others risks such as the feeling of isolation that comes with being in space for an elongated period. However one can assume that there could be variations in the details of their training courses based on their spacecraft organization.
Cool space facts
- The numerical value of age of the universe is said be close to thirteen. 8 billion years old.
- Sputnik 1 launched by Russia in 1957 remains the first human-made object to orbit the Earth.
- The International Space Station (ISS) remains currently as the largest structure built by man in space and was fully occupied by astronauts since year 2000.
- Hubble was launched into space and this has made it possible to produce some of the most beautiful space pictures such as the “Pillar of Creation” which is in Eagle Nebula.
- Besides the earth, the solar system is made up of eight planets where four of them are closer to the sun and the other four are at a far away distance it has four terrestrial planets and four gas giants.
- The highest mountain within the solar system is found on Mars and it’s called Olympus Mons and it stands about 21.9km high.
- Second, the sun is the closest star to the Earth and is the biggest celestial body in the solar system taking 99 % percent of the total mass and energy.
- The galaxy, locally named the Milky Way, home to our solar system, is assumed to be holding between 100 as well as 400 billion stars.
- The one manned space craft that was ever launched was the Apollo 10 Lunar Module which reached a velocity of 242700 miles per hour while coming back from the moon.
- The scientific discovery of the lowest temperature anywhere in the whole universe is recorded at Boomerang Nebula with a temperature of -272 degrees Celsius (-458 degrees Fahrenheit).
Interesting facts about astronauts
- First, man in space was sent to orbit the Earth by the Soviet Union, Yuri Gagarin in the year 1961.
- The first man that orbited around the earth as an American astronaut was John Glenn in 1962 during the ‘Freindship 7’.
- Valentina Tereshkova was the first woman who flew to space and she orbited the Earth 48 times in 1963 being a Soviet cosmonaut.
- The first female American astronaut was Sally Ride, she orbited the earth onboard, Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.
- Alexei Leonov of Soviet did the first ever spacewalk in 1965.
- So, the first ever, American space walk was conducted by astronaut Ed White while in Gemini 4 Space mission in 1965.
- it may interest you to know that the record of the longest single spaceflight by an astronaut was 437.The last two facts suggested that space travel is very unsafe. 7 days, the record that was set by the Russian astronaut Valeri Polyakov back in 1995.
- Man first landed on the moon in 1969 by an American astronaut named Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission and as he stepped on the first discovered resistant, he stated ‘That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind’.
- The youngest was the soviet cosmonaut Gherman Titov; he was 25 years old when he flew in 1961.
- Currently, the record holder for the oldest astronaut is John Glenn, who wanted to fly to space to become 77 at the time of the Space Shuttle Discovery’s STS-95 flight in 1998.
Interesting facts about cosmonauts
- The first man in space was the Soviet astronaut, Yuri Gagarin who flew around the Earth in spaceship Vostok 1 in 1961.
- Valentina Tereshkova of Soviet is the first woman who has visited space on Vostok 6 spacecraft in the year 1963.
- Salyut 1 which was the first crewed space station was launched by the Soviet Union into orbit in 1971.
- Russian astronaut Alexei Leonov made the first space walk in the year 1965.
- Soviet Union had the longest single period of space stay and it was achieved in 1999 while the Soyuz TM-29 was on a mission in space to spend 438 days.
- The first modular space station was the Soviet Union’s Mir station, which was in service between 1986 and 2001.
- The first paying customer, known as the ‘space tourist’, was Dennis Tito; an American businessman who went to ISS via a Soyuz spacecraft in 2001.
- Sergei Krikalev, a cosmonaut from Russia has traveled to space more than any other person amassing 803 days and 90 minutes over six flights.
- Valeri Polyakov, a Russian cosmonaut, has set a record for the individuals single space flight which totaled 437 days in Mir space station in 1994-1995.
- Russia is the only country which has the most extravehicular activities with total of 233 until the year 2021.
Some Famous Astronauts
Neil Armstrong: An American astronaut who was the first man to step on the Moon in the lunar expedition of Apollo eleven in 1969.
Buzz Aldrin: African American astronaut , who was the second man to step on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission, in 1969.
Sally Ride: It can be said that she is the America’s astronaut, who became the first American woman in the space on the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1983.
John Glenn: American astronaut who became the first American to orbit the Earth when he was launched into space in 1962 by Mercury-Atlas 6 mission, and again went to space at the age of 77 through space shuttle Discovery’s mission STS-95 in 1998.
Mae Jemison: NASA’S astronaut, whose flight to space at NASA the first flying African American woman in space on Space Shuttle Endeavour, in 1992.
Chris Hadfield: Canadian astronaut who made the first spacewalk in history and who was the first Canadian to command the ISS, in 2013.
Kalpana Chawla: Indian-origin astronaut who went on two space shuttle missions, STS-107 which resulted to the loss of the entire crew as well as the space shuttle.
Peggy Whitson: Born in: United StatesAging: 52Occupation: American astronaut presented the degree of corresponding captain SCO, Professor, rich experience of space flight which in general is named the world record for the most time spent in space by a US astronaut for the 665 days aboard three missions.
Some Famous Cosmonauts.
Yuri Gagarin: Russian space explorer who flew in the Vostok 1 spacecraft and became the first man to leave the earth’s atmosphere in 1961.
Valentina Tereshkova: Russian female cosmonaut who in 1963 became the first woman astronaut traveling to space Vostok 6.
Alexei Leonov: He made history’s first spacewalk in 1965 onboard the Voskhod 2 together with his fellow Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.
Sergei Krikalev: Russian cosmonaut who has made 6 launches to space with 803 resultant days in space, the highest number of days in space any human being has gone.
Valeri Polyakov: He was the Russian cosmonaut who set the record for the number of days in space in early 1990s for a record of 437 days aboard the Mir Space centre in 1994-1995.
Svetlana Savitskaya: Attended space shuttle to become the women who have been to space walking in the Soyuz T-12 mission in 1984.
Yuri Malenchenko: Russian cosmonaut who has the record of completed most number of spacewalks and has spent more time in space than any other person, with 828 days across six missions as of 2021.
Vladimir Titov: The man who made a record breaking space walk of 8 hours and 27 minutes on Salyut 7 space station in 1986.
Valentina Tereshkova: Russian female cosmonaut who in 1963 became the first woman astronaut traveling to space Vostok 6.
Alexei Leonov: He made history’s first spacewalk in 1965 onboard the Voskhod 2 together with his fellow Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov.
Sergei Krikalev: Russian cosmonaut who has made 6 launches to space with 803 resultant days in space, the highest number of days in space any human being has gone.
Valeri Polyakov: He was the Russian cosmonaut who set the record for the number of days in space in early 1990s for a record of 437 days aboard the Mir Space centre in 1994-1995.
Svetlana Savitskaya: Attended space shuttle to become the women who have been to space walking in the Soyuz T-12 mission in 1984.
Yuri Malenchenko: Russian cosmonaut who has the record of completed most number of spacewalks and has spent more time in space than any other person, with 828 days across six missions as of 2021.
Vladimir Titov: The man who made a record breaking space walk of 8 hours and 27 minutes on Salyut 7 space station in 1986.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." - Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
HOW IT WORKS: The International Space Station
Do You Know ?
According to the characteristics of individuals travelling in space there is a difference between astronaut and a cosmonaut. An astronaut is one who goes to space under the American space travel and a cosmonaut is one who goes to space under the Russian travelling to space.
In what manner do astronauts and cosmonauts feed themselves in the outer space? Cosmonic astronauts’ meals are provided in a packed form with special considerations made to best suit consumption in space. The food is normally in the form of packed dehydrated ones because liquids float in space. It can utilize utensils that may have hooks to hold them or some that may employ magnet so that they do not swing.
How long can a professional astronaut and cosmonaut survive in the space environment? The amount a time an astronaut or a cosmonaut can travel in space depends with the mission as well as the spacecraft. On such a complex as the International Space Station (ISS), the astronauts and cosmonauts work for six months shifts. However, some of the missions may last for up to one full year and even more.
How do the astronauts and cosmonauts work out in out in space? The body mass and the musculoskeletal system have to be trained to remain fit and in shape in outer space that is why exercise for the astronauts and cosmonauts is crucial. They utilize apparatus like the treadmill which is designed to have straps that prevents the subjects from floating especially when exercising on the bike too. They also employ use of some of these accessories such as the resistance bands and weight lifting equipment.
In general it is very hard question but here is the information about the risks and dangers which could be faced by astronaut or cosmonaut. Some of the dangers that astronauts and cosmonauts are bound to confront while in space include being subjected to high degree of radiation, loss of proper bone mass and muscle strength, and being under enormous psychological pressure due to limited space and confined environment for long term. Besides, the failure of equipment may occur or accidents during the process of launching or re-landing are also possible.
Tags Astronauts and cosmonauts What Are The Differences, What’s the difference between an astronaut and a cosmonaut?, Interesting facts about astronauts, Interesting facts about cosmonauts Some Famous Astronauts. Some Famous Cosmonauts.