ASTRONAUTS from France

Top 6

The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the most legendary French Astronauts of all time. This list of famous French Astronauts is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity.

1. Jean-Loup Chrétien (b. 1938)

With an HPI of 55.18, Jean-Loup Chrétien is the most famous French Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 30 different languages on wikipedia.

Jean-Loup Jacques Marie Chrétien (born 20 August 1938) is a French retired Général de Brigade (brigadier general) in the Armée de l'Air (French air force), and a former CNES spationaut. He flew on two Franco-Soviet space missions and a NASA Space Shuttle mission. Chrétien was the first Frenchman and the first western European in space.

2. Léopold Eyharts (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 48.49, Léopold Eyharts is the 2nd most famous French Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 28 different languages.

Léopold "Leo" Eyharts (born 28 April 1957) is a French Brigadier General in the French Air Force, an engineer and ESA astronaut. He has flown to space two times as part of a Mir expedition and an International Space Station expedition. Eyharts was born on 28 April 1957 in Biarritz, Basque Country, France. He graduated as an engineer from the French Air Force Academy of Salon-de-Provence in 1979, and graduated from the École du personnel navigant d'essais et de réception (EPNER) French test pilot school in Istres in 1988. He launched on board Space Shuttle mission STS-122 to the International Space Station on 7 February 2008, where he joined Expedition 16. He participated in the installation and configuration of the Columbus European laboratory module. He returned to Earth aboard mission STS-123 in March 2008.

3. Claudie Haigneré (b. 1957)

With an HPI of 47.73, Claudie Haigneré is the 3rd most famous French Astronaut.  Her biography has been translated into 30 different languages.

Claudie (André-Deshays) Haigneré (French pronunciation: [klodi ɛɲʁe]; born 13 May 1957) is a French doctor, politician and former astronaut, the first woman astronaut of the French space agency CNES and the European space agency ESA which went to space.

4. Jean-Pierre Haigneré (b. 1948)

With an HPI of 44.52, Jean-Pierre Haigneré is the 4th most famous French Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Jean-Pierre Haigneré (born 19 May 1948) is a French Air Force officer and a former CNES spationaut. Jean-Pierre Haigneré was born in Paris, France, and joined the French Air Force, where he trained as a test pilot. He flew on two missions to the Mir space station in 1993 and 1999. The Mir Perseus (Mir EO-27) long-duration mission (186 days) in 1999 also included an EVA. In addition to his duties at the European Space Agency, Jean-Pierre Haigneré is also involved in a European space tourism initiative, the Astronaute Club Européen (ACE), which he co-founded with Alain Dupas and Laurent Gathier. He is credited with taking the first picture of the shadow of a Solar eclipse from space. He took this during the Mir Perseus (Mir EO-27) mission.

5. Thomas Pesquet (b. 1978)

With an HPI of 41.49, Thomas Pesquet is the 5th most famous French Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 34 different languages.

Thomas Gautier Pesquet (French pronunciation: [tɔmɑ ɡotje pɛskɛ]; born 27 February 1978) is a French aerospace engineer, pilot, European Space Agency astronaut, actor, musician, and writer. Pesquet was selected by ESA as a candidate in May 2009, and he successfully completed his basic training in November 2010. From November 2016 to June 2017, Pesquet was part of Expedition 50 and Expedition 51 as a flight engineer. Pesquet returned to space in April 2021 on board the SpaceX Crew Dragon for a second six-month stay on the ISS.

6. Jean-François Clervoy (b. 1958)

With an HPI of 39.82, Jean-François Clervoy is the 6th most famous French Astronaut.  His biography has been translated into 19 different languages.

Jean-François André Clervoy (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ fʁɑ̃swa ɑ̃dʁe klɛʁvwa]; born 19 November 1958) is a French engineer and a CNES and ESA astronaut. He is a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions.