Two Japanese men were officially recognized as astronauts on Wednesday by The National Space Development Agency of Japan, making them eligible to take part in the International Space Station project.
NASDA identified the two as Satoshi Furukawa, 36, and Akihiko Hoshide, 32. Their 30-year-old co-trainee Naoko Sumino will be recognized as an astronaut after she completes the final phase of her training, according to NASDA officials.
To prepare for life on the ISS, where astronauts live in modules and conduct experiments and research, the astronauts will have to undergo about a year of training.
They will then have to wait for their turn to visit the space station, the officials said, adding that the Japanese astronauts will be taken to the ISS aboard a U.S. space shuttle or a Russian Soyuz rocket.