The Astronauts (in Polish Astronauci) is the first science fiction novel by Polish writer Stanisław Lem published as a book, in 1951. To write the novel, Lem received advance payment from publishing house Czytelnik (Warsaw). The book became an instant success and was translated into several languages (first into Czech, published in 1956). This success convinced Lem to switch to the career of a science-fiction author. The term "cosmonaut", used in countries of Eastern Bloc, was not yet created when the text was written, hence the name Astronauts.