Buzz
While being an astronaut may not seem as much of a dream career today as it once did, there was a time when nearly every child imagined themselves exploring the stars.
The intense space rivalry between the USSR and the USA, along with the countless blockbuster space films, painted astronauts as some of the most daring, heroic, and glamorous individuals of their time. This list highlights the ten astronauts who have made the biggest impact, each contributing in their own way to overcoming humanity’s challenges and reshaping history.
10. Christa McAuliffe
“I truly don’t want to say goodbye to any of you” (Just before boarding the Challenger)
Christa is perhaps the most heart-wrenching figure on this list, and she will forever hold a special place in the hearts of many of our older readers.
As a child, she was captivated by the space program, but as she grew, she chose to pursue a career in teaching. However, in 1984, NASA announced a mission to send a teacher aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. Christa applied, was selected, and took a leave of absence from her teaching job to train for the realization of her childhood aspiration.
Tragically, she and seven other astronauts lost their lives when the Challenger disintegrated just seventy-eight seconds after launch from Cape Canaveral, marking one of the most devastating incidents in NASA’s history.
9. Jim Lovell
“Houston, we’ve had a problem here”
Most people who recognize the name Jim Lovell likely associate it with Tom Hanks’ portrayal of him, rather than the real-life astronaut. If Lovell were a sports figure, he might be seen as the unluckiest player—always just shy of making the final cut. Lovell was the commander of Apollo 13, which experienced a catastrophic system failure on its way to the moon, yet the crew was safely returned. The mission, however, ended in failure, leaving Lovell’s dream unfulfilled.
Lovell holds the distinction of being the first—and only—person to fly to the moon twice without ever landing there. In many ways, he remains a king without a crown.
8. Valeri Polyakov
“If you enjoy waterbeds, you're going to love zero gravity…”
If there had been a space marathon for astronauts, there’s no question that Valeri Polyakov would have been the undisputed champion. His first spaceflight was aboard Soyuz TM-6, where he joined the Mir space station and spent an astonishing 240 days in space, conducting studies on the effects of microgravity on the human body.
On January 8, 1994, Polyakov returned to Mir, this time as a doctor-cosmonaut on Soyuz TM-18. He set an unmatched record by spending 437 days in space, a feat that still stands. Throughout this time, he conducted vital medical and physiological research. Polyakov orbited Earth 7,075 times and traveled a staggering 186,887,000 miles before safely returning on March 22, 1995.
Dr. Polyakov retired from the Russian space service shortly after his return, having accumulated a then-record 678 days in space. While many of his records have since been surpassed, Polyakov is remembered as the astronaut who made space his second home.
7. John Glenn
“I don’t know how to describe a day when you’ve seen four breathtaking sunsets”
John Glenn made history in 1962 as the first American to orbit the Earth. But long before this, he was already a war hero, having flown fifty-nine combat missions during WWII. In 1959, Glenn was selected to join the U.S. Space Program, where he, along with six other astronauts—including the iconic Alan Shepard—underwent grueling training. Together, they became known as the “Mercury Seven.”
During his historic mission, Glenn orbited the Earth three times, completing the flight in just under five hours. His success made him a national hero, celebrated with parades and awarded countless honors. President John F. Kennedy personally bestowed the NASA Distinguished Service Medal upon him, and they developed a close friendship. It’s said that Kennedy encouraged Glenn to pursue a career in public service, which led to his eventual election to the U.S. Senate in 1974, after several unsuccessful attempts.
6. Buzz Aldrin
“Exploration is ingrained in our very nature. If we can see the horizon, we’re driven to discover what lies beyond it”
Buzz Aldrin is perhaps the second-most famous member of Apollo 11 and was among the first to walk on the moon. Alongside flight commander Neil Armstrong, Aldrin made the historic Apollo 11 moonwalk, becoming one of the first two humans to step onto the lunar surface. They spent a total of twenty-one hours on the moon, returning to Earth with forty-six pounds of moon rocks.
This iconic walk was watched by an estimated six hundred million people worldwide, making it the largest TV audience in history. Upon returning safely to Earth, Buzz was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom and earned a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
5. Aleksei Leonov
“I don’t think I truly understood the meaning of the word round until I saw Earth from space”
Aleksei Leonov is a legendary Soviet cosmonaut and the first person to exit a spacecraft and perform a spacewalk. He left the Voskhod 2 spacecraft and spent twelve minutes floating in space, tethered to the capsule. During his spacewalk, he practiced free-fall maneuvers, made observations, and even filmed a short motion picture. When he tried to return to the capsule, he discovered that his suit had over-pressurized, preventing him from fitting through the hatch. He had to release some of the excess air before he could re-enter the spacecraft.
Leonov is the only surviving member of the iconic Voskhod program, and his remarkable journey is immortalized in Arthur C. Clarke’s novel, “2010: Odyssey Two.”
4. Alan Shepard
“I have to admit, perhaps I am indeed a part of history”
Alan Shepard holds the distinction of being the first—and so far the only—person to play golf on the moon. While this achievement doesn’t enhance his ranking in the world of sports, it certainly adds to his legendary status.
In early 1961, NASA selected Shepard over Glenn and Grissom, the two other finalists, to become the first American in space. After his historic flight, Shepard’s hunger for adventure remained undiminished, and he eagerly anticipated future missions. On January 31, 1971, nearly a decade after his first spaceflight, Apollo 14 launched from Cape Kennedy. Shepard commanded the mission and piloted the lunar module to the most precise landing of any Apollo mission. He became the fifth person to walk on the moon, and the only one from the Mercury Seven to do so. Alan Shepard will be remembered as the first American in space, one of the few moonwalkers, and undoubtedly as the first person to play sports on another world.
3. Yuri Gagarin
“I looked and looked and looked, but I couldn’t see God” (Disputed)
Yuri Gagarin represents the archetype for all astronauts to follow, and apart from Neil Armstrong, his name is arguably the most well-known of all space travelers. He became the first person ever to journey into space, and also the first to orbit the Earth—an achievement that gave a massive boost to the Soviet space program and further fueled the space race with the United States.
Following his flight, Gagarin became an international icon, one of the few Soviets allowed to travel to the West. He visited several countries, including Germany, Italy, Canada, Brazil, Japan, and China, with the mission of showcasing the Soviet Union’s monumental achievement of sending the first human into space.
He was welcomed with hero's honors wherever he went, despite the political tensions of the Cold War. Just three months after his historic Vostok 1 flight, he visited the United Kingdom, where he was celebrated like no other Soviet before him. Gagarin remains the most decorated astronaut to date, having received awards and medals from over twenty-five different nations.
2. Neil Armstrong
“That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”
Neil Armstrong was one of the most significant figures of the 20th century. As a young man, he participated in the Korean War and earned the Korean Service Medal. Afterward, he returned to university and completed a degree in aeronautical engineering. Later in his career, he took a position as a professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
These are certainly remarkable achievements that anyone would take great pride in. However, they pale in comparison to the journey that propelled Armstrong to global fame. As is well known, he made history on July 21, 1969, as the first human to set foot on the moon.
1. Valentina Tereshkova
“If women can be railroad workers in Russia, why can’t they fly in space?”
Valentina Tereshkova made history as the first woman in space, orbiting Earth in June 1963 at just twenty-six years old. Her lively and enthusiastic voice echoed worldwide as she famously declared, “It is I, Seagull!”
The image of a seagull gliding gracefully through the sky seemed to capture the essence of the young cosmonaut, and she quickly became affectionately known as “Seagull” by people around the globe. Valentina Tereshkova, once an ordinary cotton mill worker, achieved something truly remarkable.
The Soviet propaganda portrayed her flight as proof that in a socialist society, women were capable of achieving as much as men, and even encouraged to aim for the stars. However, the truth behind her three-day mission was that it was little more than a political maneuver to overshadow the Americans; no other Soviet women would venture into space until 1982, nearly two decades later.
