India announces crew for first manned space mission

The shortlisted crew members were all picked from the Indian Air Force

India has revealed four crew members who have been shortlisted to travel on the country's first ever human space flight scheduled for next year.

The mission, called Gaganyaan - which means 'sky craft' in Hindi, aims to send three astronauts to an orbit of 400km in space and bring them back after three days.

It's part of India's aim to become the world's fourth country to send a crewed mission into space just months after a historic landing on the south pole of the Moon last year.

The shortlisted crew members, who have been chosen from the Indian Air Force, were introduced as Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi described them as "India's pride".

"These are not just four names or four people. They are four powers who will carry the aspirations of 1.4 billion Indians to space. I congratulate and wish them all the best," he said.

What is the Gaganyaan mission all about?

India made history after it landed on the Moon's south pole with the Chandrayaan-3 space mission last year

India's human space mission is the first of its kind for the country and will cost around 90.23 billion rupees, which is approximately £897 million.

India's space agency Isro has been carrying out a number of tests to prepare for the flight.

In October, a key test demonstrated the crew could safely escape the rocket in case it malfunctioned.

After its success, Isro said a test flight would take a robot, called Vyommitra, into space in 2024, before astronauts are eventually sent into space in 2025.

Indian prime minister Narendra Modi visited Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Kerala, India this week

The men who have been shortlisted for the mission were selected from a pool of Air Force pilots and had undergone extensive physical and psychological tests before being shortlisted.

They have undergone intense training for 13 months in Russia and are now carrying on with their gruelling schedule back home.

If it succeeds in its mission, India will become only the fourth country to send a human into space after the Soviet Union, the US and China.