In a boost to India's aerospace missions, the Cabinet Friday approved the indigenous spacecraft project called Gaganyaan under which a three-member crew will be sent to space for at least seven days, Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said.

The testing phase is expected to begin from December 2020 and the mission will be undertaken from 2022, he added.

The historic mission is expected to have a crew capacity of three astronauts and is supposed to operate for at least a week. The total cost of the project is reported to be Rs. 10,000 crores and the mission, if successful, will ensure India's addition to the club of three countries that have sent a manned mission to the outer space.