Four Indian Air Force pilots have been shortlisted to travel on the country’s maiden space flight in 2025.

The officers are Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair, Group Captain Ajit Krishnan, Group Captain Angad Pratap and Wing Commander Shubhanshu Shukla.

The space mission aims to send three astronauts to an orbit of 400km and bring them back after three days.

India’s space agency (Isro) is running tests and says a test flight would take a robot into space in 2024, before astronauts are sent into space in 2025.

At a function at the Isro centre in the southern city of Thiruvananthapuram (formerly Trivandrum) today, the four astronaut-designates were described as “dreamers, adventurers and valiant men preparing to go into space”.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Isro chief S Somanath pinned badges with golden wings onto their shirts and Mr Modi described them as “India’s pride”.