astronautnoun [ C ]
uk/ˈæs.trə.nɔːt/us/ˈæs.trə.nɑːt/a person who has been trained for travelling in space
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Space travel
- astronautics
- autopilot
- blast
- command module
- cosmonaut
- earthbound
- flyby
- heat shield
- launch pad
- moon buggy
- NASA
- retrorocket
- rocket
- rocket science
- rocket ship
- spacecraft
- spaceman
- touchdown
- tracking station
- UFO
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Air travel: workers on/with aircraft & spacecraft
Examples from literature
- A major challenge for astronauts is the low-gravity, or micro-gravity environment, which means they must re-learn how to move the body.
- Although scientists have learned how to solve these problems through exercise, diet, and medicines, astronauts who spend long periods of time in micro-gravity conditions still find they are very weak when they return to Earth’s higher gravity.
- Astronauts often sleep tied into special beds so they do not hurt themselves while they are unconscious.
- Gold is used to protect astronauts from the brightness and heat of the sun.
- Many early achievements were Russian, such as the first rocket to orbit the Earth (1957), the first astronaut (Yuri Gagarin, 1961), and the first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova, 1963).
- Mars One began the selection of the astronauts in 2013.
- Polyakov’s experiences showed that astronauts could spend long periods of time in space without suffering long-term problems, although there are still questions about whether humans could live for many years in this kind of environment.
- To prepare themselves for this environment, astronauts spend months training underwater.
- When astronauts go to space, they float due to the lack of gravity.