Taikonauts reflect pride in space missions

In their tweets to congratulate China on the launch of three astronauts on their Shenzhou XII mission to the Tianhe core space station module, both the European Space Agency and Roscosmos used the word "taikonauts".

Comprising the Greek word "naut", which means sailor, and "taiko", which comes from taikong, the Chinese word for space, the word specifically refers to Chinese astronauts.

Yet "taikonaut" is more than just a word. Its history mirrors that of China's space journey. The word was coined in 1998 by Chiew Lee Yih, a Chinese Malaysian, who used it first in newsgroups. However, back then few people picked up on it, as China was still relatively weak at that time and had not yet conducted any manned space missions.