MOSCOW. July 11 (Interfax) - The fourth open selection for the Russian Cosmonaut Corps has begun, with any Russian citizen under 35 being able to apply until October 30, 2023, Roscosmos said on Monday.
"Today, the Roscosmos state corporation and the Cosmonaut Training Center are announcing the start of an open competition for selecting candidates for Russian cosmonauts. The aim is to ensure the objectives of the Russian Federal Space Program are achieved," the Roscosmos press service said on Monday.
"The competition is open to any Russian citizen who meets the candidate criteria. The competition will select the candidates who will join the Roscosmos Cosmonaut Corps," the corporation said.
Applications and supporting documentation (originals or copies) must be submitted by October 30, 2023, it said.
The competition commission will examine applications, determine which candidates fail to meet the criteria and notify them accordingly, by telephone or email, without a specific explanation of the reason for refusal.
"The remaining candidates will be personally tested for aptitude during the in-person stage of the selection. The competition commission will summon the shortlisted candidates by telephone or email to the Cosmonaut Training Center to verify in person, if they meet the requirements," the statement said.
"The interagency commission's decisions on selected candidates will be published on the Roscosmos and Cosmonaut Training Center websites and communicated to every one of the selected candidates personally," the press service said.
This is the fourth open selection for the cosmonaut corps. During the previous ones, eight candidates were selected in 2012, eight in 2018 and four in 2021.
At present, the cosmonauts corps consists of 26 cosmonauts.