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04-03-09 JAXA Selects Astronaut Candidates For Future ISS Crew

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has been recruiting and selecting astronaut candidates for future International Space Station (ISS) missions to operate and utilize the ISS until 2015.We are now pleased to announce that two candidates have been selected.They will participate in a two-year astronaut candidate training course.After being certified as astronauts upon completion of the training course,two more years of mission-specific training for the ISS will be required before they can stay aboard the ISS.They are expected to be stationed there for up to six months if required for the operation and maintenance of the ISS,including the Japanese Experiment Module "Kibo," and performing various space experiment missions.Another candidate may be selected as a backup astronaut.They will join JAXA on April 1,2009,and participate in the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) astronaut candidate training course for two years to acquire engineering and science knowledge as well as ISS and Kibo system familiarity required for astronauts.After completing the astronaut candidate training course,they will be certified as a JAXA astronaut based on the training result evaluation(Takuya Onishi 33,Kimiya Yui 39)