The four cosmonauts shortlisted for Gaganyaan Mission, India’s first manned space mission, have completed their training in Russia, according to an official Russian statement here on Tuesday. The contract for the training of Indian officers was signed between the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) and Russian launch service provider Glavcosmos in June 2019. The ?10,000-crore ambitious project is expected to be launched in 2022, the year of the 75th anniversary of IndiaÂs Independence. The Four Indian Air Force fighter pilots are likely to be potential candidates for the Gaganyaan Mission.

“In the evening we met with Indian gaganauts who had completed their training at Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center. We also discussed with the (Indian) ambassador the future bilateral space projects,” Dmitry Rogozin, the head of the Russian state space corporation, said on his Telegram channel, as quoted by Sputnik.

Cosmonaut Training Center named after Yuri Gagarin on February 10, 2020, began the planned training of Indian cosmonaut candidates. The training was paused at the end of March due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 infection. It was later resumed in May.

The entire process of preparation and training included a number of elements necessary for future cosmonauts, such as medical and physical training, studying the Russian language, studying the design, layout, and systems of the Soyuz transport manned spacecraft.