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#### Astronaut Names An astronaut is a person who pilots a spacecraft or works in space to complete a mission. The men and women who travel in space for the United States are called astronauts (from a Greek word meaning "sailors of the stars"). Those sent into space by the former Soviet Union are called “cosmonauts” (from a Greek word meaning "sailors of the universe"). Astronauts who come from France are called spacetionauts. The word taikonaut is sometimes used in English for astronauts from China by news media from the West. The word is based on the term "tàikōng", Chinese for space or cosmos. In Chinese itself, however, the term yuhangyuan ("space navigator") is used and refers to astronauts and cosmonauts. However, an official English text issued by the Chinese government uses the term astronaut. Check that you understand what this word means in this document Term: a word used in relation to a particular subject, often to describe something official or technical.