What will you name it: astronaut, cosmonaut, or...?

Here - the people I encounter in space are not simply called astronauts as I am used to on Earth. The situation is a bit confusing. If I meet someone who is American or primarily belongs to an English-speaking country, they are called an astronaut; if someone from Russia or a Russian-speaking country, they are referred to as a cosmonaut; and if someone from the Far East - a Chinese person, they are called a taikonaut. So, what is this confusion? What are the reasons for these different designations?

In the early days of space flight, there was a Space Race between the USA (United States of America) and the USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics). Both wanted to advance and distinguish themselves in this race. The first successful steps were taken by the USSR. They sent the first human - Yuri Gagarin into space and named him a cosmonaut. In response, the USA launched the first American - Alan Shepard into space, calling him an astronaut. Each had managed to distinguish itself successfully in its own way. Much later, China also joined this race, launching its first Chinese individual - Yang Liwei into space and naming him a taikonaut. And this tradition spread among countries and different language-speaking peoples, who began to create their own names.

Despite all the different names, there is a common point for cosmonaut, astronaut, taikonaut; I am not saying that all three are used to designate people who go to space; there is another nuance. All three end with the suffix "-naut". This suffix is derived from the ancient Greek word "nautes", which means sailor, and when used as a suffix implies traveler or voyageur in conjunction with the words it is used with.

The word space has the same meaning in both Russian and our language, and when combined with the suffix "-naut", it creates the word cosmonaut, which can be referred to as a space traveler or voyager. The meaning of "astro" in the astronaut word used by English-speaking countries is star. When "-naut" is added to it, it forms the word astronaut, which means, as they say, a person traveling to the stars. And let me note that both the word space and astro are also ancient Greek words. Unlike these two, the "taiko" in the taikonaut word used by the Chinese is a term that is specific to their own language and means space. Even the French use spationaut (spationaute), and Malaysians use their own term angkasavan (angkasawan), which means astronaut, to refer to people going into space.

Technically, each of these designations is considered correct. The only difference lies in the language used and which space agency facilitated their journey to space. Officially, those who train through NASA, ESA and JAXA are called astronauts, while those who have trained through Roscosmos are referred to as cosmonauts. For those flying through CNSA , this designation is noted as taikonaut.

Another noteworthy nuance is that due to certain differences in the requirements put forward by different agencies, such as age limits, height, weight, etc., there can be differences among astronauts, cosmonauts, and taikonauts based on these criteria. Additionally, clear differences also manifest in the design of the clothing they wear during space flights and in space.

In our designation in the Azerbaijani language, we have been under the influence of the USSR for a long time, which is why we use the word cosmonaut. The first and still, only Azerbaijani who has traveled to space - Musa Manarov (who flew into space on December 21, 1987, and worked for a year at 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 a little. Right now. Let’s lift our heads and look at the sky and think that somewhere out there, there are others who share our language and belong to the same nationality, how would we call them? Cosmonaut, astronaut, or ...? You name it.

With the wish that one day soon, there will be someone in space that we can address and get a response from in our native language, for now!

When we lift our heads and look at the sky, if there are people out there who share our language and belong to the same nationality, how would we call them? Cosmonaut, astronaut, or ...? You 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