List of Asian astronauts

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

  Independent launch capability
  Planned human spaceflight program

Country Astronauts Maiden flight
 Afghanistan 1 29 August 1988
 Azerbaijan 1 21 December 1987
 China 24 15 October 2003
 Georgia 1 7 October 2002
 India 4 3 April 1984
 Iran 2 18 September 2006
 Israel 3 16 January 2003
 Japan 13 2 December 1990
 Kazakhstan 3 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
 South Korea 1 8 April 2008
 Syria 1 22 July 1987
 Taiwan 1 29 April 1985
 Turkey 2 18 January 2024
 United Arab Emirates 2 25 September 2019
 Vietnam 2 23 July 1980
 Singapore 1 29 August 2024

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 20
 China CNSA Tiangong program Low Earth orbit 1999–present 19
 India ISRO Indian Human Spaceflight Programme Low Earth orbit 2006–present TBD
 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
 Pakistan
 United Arab Emirates
ILRS International Lunar Research Station Moon 2021–present TBD
 India ISRO Indian Human Moon Exploration Programme Moon 2035 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:

See also