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(Image: CEN/GETTY)

It is unclear if the primeates, who are being trained for three hours a day, will survive the exploratory, potentially history-making mission.

Boffins from the Russian Academy Of Science, are preparing four rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) to make the flight within two years.

The animals are being trained three hours a day so they can travel safely into outer space, and eventually land on Mars.

The special group of rhesus macaques were chosen for their cognitive abilities and their quick-learning skills.

For scientific projects these type of monkeys are hand-reared in special farms, where the cleverest ones get selected to work at the Institute of Biomedical Problems.

(Image: CEN)

Inessa Kozlovskaya, a leading expert, believes sending a monkey to Mars is a viable option.

She said: "What we are trying to do is to make them as intelligent as possible so we can use them to explore space beyond our orbit."

The smartest representative of the four macaques’ is called Clyopa who is seen on an extraordinary training video.

Every day the cute little monkey spends hours learning how to control a joystick and hit a target, which is highlighted by a cursor.

Natalia Miller, one of the specialists working with the monkey, says Clyopa gets a sip of a juice as a treat for fulfilling tasks properly.

(Image: CEN)

The next step the Russian scientists plan to accomplish is teaching the macaques how to solve simple mathematical tasks and puzzles.

At the end of their training, the monkeys should be able to complete their daily schedule of tasks on their own.

Miss Kozlovskaya, who has worked on the project since the 1980s, said the main goal is to teach monkeys to perform a range of tasks they will be able to remember.

The team is also hoping the space monkeys will train others and integrate them into the team, and hopefully their descendants will benefit from intelligent parents.

Macaques typically have a lifespan of about 25 years, so it is hoped there is enough time to train them properly and for them to survive the six-month trip to Mars.