MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS/. Gender will not be a determining factor when choosing crew for flight to the Moon and Mars, while the cosmonaut’s professionalism will play the decisive role, deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems at the Russian Academy of Sciences Valery Bogomolov said on Thursday.
"Gender problems in space go to the background if completing the program is at stake. It does not matter who will fly - man or woman, the main thing is that this person is a specialist. He or she should master the whole range of cosmonaut’s activities - technical, medical and psychological," the scientist said.
Women have proved themselves to be good cosmonauts. "Women were, are and will be in space," Bogomolov said.
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It was reported earlier that the Institute of Biomedical Problems will conduct and experiment by isolating six women for eight days in the framework of modelling the manned mission to the Moon.
Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) First Deputy Head Alexander Ivanov said earlier this month that Russia plans to send a manned mission to the Moon in 2030-2031.
"In our program, this [manned mission to the Moon] is scheduled for 2020-2031. This program [Federal Space Program for 2016-2025] is being coordinated now," he said.
When asked when the first settlement might be built on the Moon, Ivanov said this question was much more complex and needed additional attention.
