This article revisits the legal status of astronauts by recounting the tale of their rise and fall in the International Space Law (ISL). ISL in its early years declared astronauts as envoys of mankind, although it later on entered into a state of forgetfulness of the term, replacing it with the more contemporaneous term “personnel.” Personnel brought a sense of everydayness and pragmatism to ISL as against the idealism attached to astronauts and to their status as the envoys of mankind's romantic collective. Spotlighting on this shift, this article argues that the term astronaut has, in fact, a semiotic effect in ISL that constantly evokes proud memories of human conquest of outer spaces. That is to say, in bestowing astronauts with the status of envoys of mankind, ISL mainly meant to record the remarkable feat of that day rather than actualizing astronauts in the deontological landscape of law. Later on, mindful of the burgeoning space activities and the need to regulate them, ISL espoused the term personnel to refer to space travelers. Today ISL governs the activities of personnel, whereas astronaut has a logocentric presence therein. Drawing on a relevant understanding of contemporary society and culture, the article concludes that astronauts have a legacy in law and society—they continue to exist as a cultural symbol in society and as a symbol of a culture in ISL.

本文通过回顾宇航员在《国际空间法》（ISL）中起起落落的故事来重新审视其法律地位。ISL在成立之初就宣布宇航员为人类特使，尽管后来它进入了对该术语的遗忘状态，取而代之的是更现代的术语“人员”。人员给ISL带来了日常感和实用主义，与宇航员及其作为人类浪漫集体的使节所具有的理想主义背道而驰。着眼于这种转变，本文认为，“宇航员”一词实际上在ISL中具有符号学作用，不断唤起人们对人类征服外层空间的骄傲记忆。也就是说，赋予宇航员人类特使的地位，ISL的主要目的是记录当天的杰出成就，而不是在法律的道义论视野中使宇航员成为现实。后来，考虑到迅速发展的太空活动以及对其进行监管的需求，ISL拥护“人员”一词指的是太空旅行者。今天，ISL控制着人员的活动，而宇航员则以徽标为中心。通过对当代社会和文化的相关理解，本文得出结论，宇航员在法律和社会中具有遗产-他们继续作为社会中的文化符号和ISL中的文化符号存在。而宇航员则以徽标为中心。通过对当代社会和文化的相关理解，本文得出结论，宇航员在法律和社会中具有遗产-他们继续作为社会中的文化符号和ISL中的文化符号存在。而宇航员则以徽标为中心。通过对当代社会和文化的相关理解，本文得出结论，宇航员在法律和社会中具有遗产-他们继续作为社会中的文化符号和ISL中的文化符号存在。