Name it: cosmonaut, astronaut, or…?
Here, in space, people aren’t simply called “cosmonauts” the way I’m used to on Earth. It’s a bit complicated. If I come across someone American or from an English-speaking country, they’re called an astronaut; if they’re Russian or from a Russian-speaking country, they’re called a cosmonaut; and if they’re from the Far East, say, China, they’re called a taikonaut. So what is this confusion? Where do these different names come from?
In the early days of spaceflight, there was the Space Race between the United States and the USSR (the Soviet Union). Both sides wanted to take the lead and stand out. The first major successes came from the USSR; they sent the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space and called him a cosmonaut. In response, the United States sent its first astronaut, Alan Shepard, into space and gave him the title astronaut. Each managed to distinguish itself in its own way. Much later, China joined the race and sent its first citizen, Yang Liwei, into space, calling him a taikonaut. Over time, this tradition spread across countries and languages, with different cultures creating their own terms.
Despite all these different names - cosmonaut, astronaut, taikonaut -they share something in common. And no, I don’t mean just that they refer to people who go to space; there’s another detail. All three end with “-naut.” This suffix comes from the ancient Greek word "nautes", meaning sailor, and when used as a suffix, it gives the meaning of traveler or voyager.
The word “cosmos” carries the same meaning both in Russian and in our (Azerbaijani) language, and when combined with the suffix “-naut,” it forms cosmonaut, meaning a traveler or voyager of space. In the word astronaut, used in English-speaking countries, “astro” means star. Add “-naut” to it, and you get astronaut, someone who travels to the stars. And it’s worth noting that both “cosmos” and “astro” come from ancient Greek. Unlike these, the “taiko” in taikonaut, used by the Chinese, comes from their own language and means space. In fact, the French use spationaute, and Malaysians use angkasawan, their own word for astronaut, to refer to people who travel to space.
Technically, all of these terms are considered correct. The difference simply comes down to the language used and the space agency through which the person travels to space. Officially, those trained and sent to space by NASA, ESA, or JAXA are called astronauts, while those trained and sent by Roscosmos are referred to as cosmonauts. For those who fly through CNSA, the term used is taikonaut.
Another point to note is that the requirements set by different space agencies also vary, things like age limits, height, weight, and so on. Because of this, there can be differences between astronauts, cosmonauts, and taikonauts. These differences are also clearly reflected in the design of the suits they wear during spaceflight and in space.
In our (Azerbaijani) language, we’ve long been influenced by the Soviet Union, which is why we commonly use the term cosmonaut. The first and so far only Azerbaijani to travel to space, Musa Manarov (who flew to space on December 21, 1987, and spent a year aboard the Mir space station), is also referred to as a cosmonaut.
Musa Manarov, the first Azerbaijani cosmonaut
If we had a choice, if we could give a name to the people flying to space - the Azerbaijanis in our native language, what would it be?
Let’s think about it for a moment. Right now. Let’s lift our heads, look up at the sky, and imagine that somewhere out there, there’s someone who speaks our language, who shares our identity, what would we call them? Cosmonaut, astronaut, or…? Name it.
With the hope that one day soon, there will be someone in space we can call out to in our native (Azerbaijani) language, and hear a reply, chau!
When we lift our heads, look up at the sky, if somewhere out there, there’s someone who speaks our language, who shares our identity, what would we call them? Cosmonaut, astronaut, or…? Name it.
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NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the USA
ESA (European Space Agency) - European Space Agency
JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency
Roscosmos - Russian Federal Space Agency
CNSA (China National Space Administration) - China National Space Administration