What is an astronaut An astronaut is a specially trained person who leaves Earth to travel into space All around Earth space stretches out between the distant planets and stars Astronauts are in here Why do astronauts go into space To explore different places such as the moon and to find out what it is like to live in space Rocket I am a cosmonaut the Russian name for an astronaut Moon How long do they spend in space Astronauts usually stay on the International Space Station ISS for six months but four astronauts have spent over a year in space 4
Astronaut Most astronauts go to the ISS which is 643 miles above Earth The farthest astronauts have been is to the moon 238,850 miles away İnternational Space Station Atmosphere This is a layer of gases around Earth giving us air to breathe Rocket launched from Earth Earth 5
How do astronauts get into space Launching into space 1 A huge powerful rocket launches the Soyuz spacecraft with three astronauts inside into space Soyuz spacecraft Booster rockets Rocket separation 2 When the rocket is 30 miles up its boosters separate By the time it is 125 miles into space the Soyuz spacecraft has separated from the rocket Boosters separate Circling Earth 3 The astronauts sit snugly in seats inside the spacecraft as it orbits Earth Solar panels 6
Docking 4 The spacecraft catches up with the ISS and locks on to it The astronauts can then climb on board to meet the ISS crew Heading home 5 When the Soyuz spacecraft re-enters the air around Earth it is going extremely fast The outside rubs against the air and gets incredibly hot but the astronauts are safe inside It’s a bumpy ride though ISS docking port Safe landing 6 Astronauts feel nothing more than a bump when they land on the ground They are helped onto recliners because their legs are weak after months of living in space 7
