Astronaut

Astronaut, also generically called a space traveler, was a term used on Earth during the 20th and 21st centuries to designate early space explorers, primarily those from the United States of America. In particular the exploration of astronauts was limited to intrastellar missions within the Sol system. However, in later centuries, the term had come to have a generic meaning for any explorers in nascent space-faring societies.
An astronaut pin was an award given to astronauts by NASA. ()
Zefram Cochrane called William T. Riker, Deanna Troi, and Geordi La Forge astronauts "on some kind of star trek" after they told him the truth about his flight in the Phoenix and subsequent First Contact with the Vulcans. ()
The young Jonathan Archer painted a remote controlled model spaceship model in 2121 which had two removable astronaut figures. ()
In 2151, Commander Tucker referred to the risky job astronauts did with the use of rockets: "In the old days, astronauts rode rockets with millions of liters of hydrogen burning under their seats. You think they said, 'Gee, I'd love to go to the moon today but it seems a little risky?" ()
Apollo, when recalling the planet Earth, described how himself, Zeus, Athena, Aphrodite, and Artemis visited there five thousand years prior, describing the group as "a gallant band of travelers." Later, when James T. Kirk disputed the claim of their host being a "god", he offered alternate explanation, "Say five thousand years ago, a highly sophisticated group of space travelers landed on Earth around the Mediterranean," with which Leonard McCoy agreed, adding "To the simple shepherds and tribesmen of early Greece, creatures like that would have been gods." () Kirk decided the same theory when discussing Kukulkan's visit to Earth, and fact there are several similar legends on Earth that support Kukulkan's claim, Kirk theorized that perhaps the being was "A space traveler who visited Earth in primitive times." ()
The distress call sent by the Scalosian Rael that was received by the in 2268 stated: "To any and all space travelers passing within range of the planet Scalos, I send you an urgent appeal for help..." ()
When Mirasta Yale, a scientist from the pre-warp Malcorians who were about to succeed at achieving warp drive, had been contacted by Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a pre-first contact encounter, she attempted to explain to their intentions to Chancellor Durken and the Minister of Security Krola that those from the Federation were "not hostile". Krola's response was to call her "incredibly naive" before asking "can you be so enraptured with the notion of space travelers that you are blind to the threat they represent?" ()
== List of astronauts ==
=== Pre-warp Earth ===
* Buzz Aldrin (Apollo 11)
* William Anders (Apollo 8)
* Neil Armstrong (Apollo 11)
* Alan Bean (Apollo 12)
* Frank Borman (Apollo 8)
* Eugene Cernan (Apollo 10; Apollo 17)
* Pete Conrad (Apollo 12)
* Roger B. Chaffee (Apollo 1)
* Shaun Geoffrey Christopher (Earth-Saturn probe)
* Zefram Cochrane (Phoenix)
* Walter Cunningham (Apollo 7)
* Charles Duke (Apollo 16)
* Donn F. Eisele (Apollo 7)
* Ronald Evans (Apollo 17)
* Fontana (Earth-Saturn probe)
* John Glenn (Mercury 6; STS-95 on Discovery)
* Richard F. Gordon, Jr. (Apollo 12)
* Gus Grissom (Apollo 1)
* James Irwin (Apollo 15)
* Mae Jemison
* John Kelly (Ares IV)
* Rose Kumagawa (Ares IV)
* Jim Lovell (Apollo 8; Apollo 13)
* Ken Mattingly (Apollo 16)
* James McDivitt (Apollo 9)
* Edgar Mitchell (Apollo 14)
* Andrei Novakovich (Ares IV)
* Shannon O'Donnel (NASA-trained, never flew)
* (Earth-Saturn probe)
* Stephen G. Richey (Charybdis)
* Stuart Roosa (Apollo 14)
* Wally Schirra (Apollo 7)
* Rusty Schweickart (Apollo 9)
* Harrison Schmitt (Apollo 17)
* David Scott (Apollo 9; Apollo 15)
* Alan Shepard (Freedom 7; Apollo 14)
* Thomas P. Stafford (Apollo 10)
* Edward Higgins White (Apollo 1)
* Alfred Worden (Apollo 15)
* John Young (Apollo 10; Apollo 16)
=== Other pre-warp civilizations ===
* Gotana-Retz (Sky ship expedition)
* Terrina (Sky ship expedition)
=== See also ===
* Dean of Astronautics
== Appendices ==
=== Background information ===
Several real-life astronauts have appeared in Star Trek. appeared as in the episode . She was followed by E. Michael Fincke and Terry Virts, who appeared in the final episode of , . Also, Jeff Bezos (who had a cameo appearance in ) and William Shatner each traveled to space as passengers in Bezos' Blue Origin rockets; however, the FAA does not consider them "astronauts". 
Footage of NASA astronauts Alan Shepard, Buzz Aldrin and an unknown astronaut using the Manned Maneuvering Unit was used in the opening credits of .
Several places and objects in the Star Trek universe were named after , the first Human astronaut in space, including the , Yuri Gagarin Hall, Gagarin IV, and the Gagarin Radiation Belt.
In the first draft script of , which had the working title "Equilibrium", mentioned to Fraht that, for Halloween during Trip's childhood, he had usually dressed up as either an astronaut or an alien.
===External links===
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