The two finalists in the race to become the nation's first astronaut will leave for Russia Friday, where they will undergo medical checkups to reconfirm that they're fit to travel into space.

The Ministry of Science and Technology said Wednesday that Go San and Lee So-yeon will undergo medical examinations similar to the ones they received in Korea, adding that the new tests are aimed at reaffirming previous medical results and investigating the need for any additional checkups.

The two finalists will return home on January 25th and again travel to Russia in March for training on Russian language and culture before taking part in their astronaut training from April.

Go San is a 30-year-old researcher from the computer vision and human intelligence division at Samsung Advanced Institute of Technology.

Lee So-yeon is a 28-year-old female doctorate student at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology.