Astronauts on Stamps

Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space, was featured on a postage stamp issued by the Soviet Union in 1961.

Alan Shepard, the first American in space, was featured on a postage stamp issued by the United States in 1961.

Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.

Valentina Tereshkova, the first woman in space, was featured on a postage stamp issued by the Soviet Union in 1963.

Alexei Leonov was the first human to conduct a spacewalk, during the Voskhod 2 mission in 1965.

Guion Bluford was the first African-American astronaut to appear on a postage stamp, issued by the United States in 1983.

Valeri Polyakov was the first human to spend a year in space, during his mission to the Mir space station in 1994-1995.

Yang Liwei was the first Chinese astronaut to appear on a postage stamp, issued by China in 2003.

John Young was the first astronaut to command two space shuttle missions, STS-1 and STS-9.

Rakesh Sharma was the first Indian astronaut to appear on a postage stamp, issued by India in 1984.

Bruce McCandless II was the first astronaut to repair a satellite in space, during the STS-41-B mission in 1984.

Soichi Noguchi was the first Japanese astronaut to appear on a postage stamp, issued by Japan in 2005.

Yuri Malenchenko was the first astronaut to perform a spacewalk outside the International Space Station, during the Expedition 1 mission in 2000.

Marc Garneau was the first Canadian astronaut to appear on a postage stamp, issued by Canada in 1984.

Bruce McCandless II was the first astronaut to conduct a spacewalk using a jetpack, during the STS-41-B mission in 1984.