Which countries have sent people to space?

Sixty-nine years ago this day, the Soviet Union launched Sputnik ۱, the first satellite to orbit Earth, opening the Space Age and setting off a race with the United States.

Ten years later, on October ۱۰, ۱۹۶۷, the Outer Space Treaty came into force.

In ۱۹۹۹, the United Nations started observing World Space Week – from October ۴ to ۱۰ – to celebrate the contribution of space technology for the benefit of humanity. Schools, space agencies, museums and astronomy clubs around the world hold stargazing nights, science classes, exhibitions and talks by astronauts and scientists.

Today, more than ۸۰ countries have put satellites into orbit, and people from over ۵۰ of those have travelled to space.

In this visual explainer, Al Jazeera looks at which countries have done so, how many space travellers have been women, and what comes next for human spaceflight.

The first man in space – Yuri Gagarin

On April ۱۲, ۱۹۶۱, Soviet astronaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

On board the Vostok ۱ spacecraft, he completed one orbit of Earth at about ۲۷,۴۰۰km/h (۱۷,۰۲۵mph) during a ۱۰۸-minute flight. He later ejected from the spacecraft and landed by parachute.

The mission demonstrated that humans could survive launch, weightlessness and re-entry, giving the Soviet Union a major early victory in the Cold War Space Race.

Six years later, on October ۱۰, ۱۹۶۷, the Outer Space Treaty entered into force. Signed by the US, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union, it established that space should be explored and used peacefully and that no country could claim it as territory.

Less than two years later, NASA’s Apollo ۱۱ mission landed the first humans on the moon. On July ۲۰, ۱۹۶۹, Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on its surface.

Where does space begin?

There is no single agreed boundary for where space begins: most international bodies use the Karman line, ۱۰۰km (۶۲ miles) above Earth, while the US military, NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration count anyone who flies above ۸۰km (۵۰ miles).

Either way, it is closer than it sounds: if Earth were the size of an apple, space would begin about as far from the surface as the thickness of its skin.

Which countries have sent people to space?

By the Karman line measure, at least ۷۴۶ people from ۵۲ countries have travelled to space, including professional astronauts and paying tourists.

Some hold dual nationality, and some flew for countries that no longer exist, such as the Soviet Union.

The graphic below breaks down space travellers by country.

Two countries still dominate the list. The US has sent ۳۶۹ people to space, and the Soviet Union and Russia have sent ۱۳۸ combined. China, the third country to launch people on its own rockets, has sent ۲۹.

One in seven space travellers is a woman

Space remains a male-dominated frontier. Science fiction may be full of women commanding starships, but of the ۷۴۶ people who have travelled to space, only ۱۱۲, or ۱۵ percent, have been women, about one in seven.

Soviet astronaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel to space in June ۱۹۶۳. The US did not follow for another ۲۰ years, until Sally Ride flew in June ۱۹۸۳.

The share of women is rising, though, largely because of commercial flights. More than half of the women who have flown since ۲۰۲۰ went up as paying passengers or guests on Blue Origin’s suborbital rocket.

The typical space traveller is ۴۰

Most people who have flown to space were in their ۳۰s or ۴۰s on their first flight, which together account for ۸۵ percent. The median age is ۴۰. Commercial flights have widened that range.

The youngest traveller, Oliver Daemen, was ۱۸ when he flew in ۲۰۲۱. The oldest, Ed Dwight, was ۹۰ years and eight months old when he flew in ۲۰۲۴, about two months older than William Shatner had been on his flight three years earlier.

What comes next for human spaceflight?

In April ۲۰۲۶, the Artemis II crew flew around the moon and reached about ۴۰۶,۷۷۱km (۲۵۲,۷۵۶ miles) from Earth, breaking the distance record set by Apollo ۱۳ in ۱۹۷۰.

Next is Artemis III in ۲۰۲۷, a rehearsal in Earth orbit to test docking with lunar landers built by SpaceX and Blue Origin. NASA is targeting ۲۰۲۸ for Artemis IV, which aims to land astronauts near the moon’s south pole, the first crewed landing since ۱۹۷۲.

India plans its first crewed Gaganyaan flight in ۲۰۲۷, making it the fourth country to launch people on its own rocket. China aims to land astronauts on the moon around ۲۰۳۰.