Kononenko announced the expectation of applications from women to join the cosmonaut corps.

As part of the fifth open selection for the Roscosmos cosmonaut squad, applications from women are welcome and expected. Oleg Kononenko, Acting head of the Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (CPC), told about this on March 4.

"We are waiting for them [the women]. We don't have a gender principle in the squad," he said.

Kononenko pointed out that applicants must meet a number of strict requirements. Their age should not exceed 35 years as of the end of 2025. Candidates must have a higher education in the field of exact, natural or medical sciences with an average diploma score of at least four, and work experience in the profession must be at least three years. The absence of chronic diseases and excellent physical fitness are also mandatory conditions.

The applications will be reviewed by a special commission, which will include representatives of the CPC, RSC Energia and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences. According to Kononenko, during the current selection it is planned to recruit from four to six candidates.

"The selection order was signed in December, and the selection actually began in February. It is planned to select 4-6 candidates this year and begin general space training early next year," Kononenko said.

He added that at the moment, the commission for reviewing applications has not yet been assembled, but the center has already received one full-fledged application. According to Kononenko, future cosmonauts who have successfully passed the selection process will be able to go on missions 5-7 years after enlisting in the detachment.

Space exploration: Russia to send representatives of three countries into orbit

These may be citizens of Indonesia, North Korea, Vietnam or the Central African Republic, experts believe.

On February 25, the Roscosmos press service reported that cosmonaut Sergei Teteryatnikov was appointed to the main crew of the Crew Dragon spacecraft as a specialist for the Crew-13 mission, and his colleague Harutyun Kiviryan was selected as an understudy.

On February 13, the Crew Dragon spacecraft with Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev on board launched to the International Space Station (ISS) from Cape Canaveral in Florida as part of the Crew-12 mission. In addition to the Russian, NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Jack Hathaway, as well as a representative of the European Space Agency (ESA) Sophie Adeno, were in the spacecraft.

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