All the candidates were chosen based on their physical and mental health as well as their personality, and according to the criteria stipulated by the Russian and the United States Space Agencies, he said.

Local media reported that, of the eight candidates, only four would be selected to undergo medical tests in Russia, as required by Russia. After further screening, two of the four would take up training at the Star City in Moscow.

Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is expected to announce the names of the two finalists after mid-March, one of whom would follow the expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) scheduled for October next year.

The eight were chosen from 11,000 applicants since the Malaysian National Space Agency started the screening campaign for the country's first astronaut in 2003.

The eight were selected by an eight-member technical committee comprising health experts, aeromedical experts and clinical psychology consultants.

Malaysia's astronaut program came after it purchased 10 Sukhoi Su-30 MKN jet fighters from Russia. The Russian government, in return, offered one seat for a Malaysian astronaut to join their astronauts in an expedition to the ISS.

Jamaludin said that besides raising Malaysia's world image in the field of science, the country's involvement in sending its astronaut would also benefit its space science research.

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