Wan Hu is a legendary Chinese official described in modern sources as possibly the first man to attempt to use a rocket to launch into outer space.

[1] Possibly depicted as the "world's first astronaut"[2] and "the first martyr in man's struggle to achieve space flight",[3] NASA named the crater Wan-Hoo on the far side of the Moon after him.

[4] According to some Chinese sources, "Wan Hu" was a title granted to him by the imperial court during the early Ming dynasty, and his real name was Tao Chengdao.

[8] However, Li Chengzhi has argued for the story's plausibility, saying that it may have come from oral transmission by European missionaries who came to China during the late Ming and Qing dynasties,[9] or based on records in an ancient Chinese document that has been subsequently lost.

On the day of lift-off, Wan, splendidly attired, climbed into his rocket chair and forty seven servants lit the fuses and then hastily ran for cover.

Back in the 14th century, a Chinese named Wan Hu attempted to send himself into sky by lighting 47 gunpower-packed bamboo tubes tied to his chair.