Russian cosmonauts Sergei Zaliotin and Alexander Kalery will return to earth from the orbiting Mir space station on June 16, officials at the cosmonaut training centre near Moscow said Tuesday.
The cosmonauts have been aboard Mir since April 6.
The space station could be destroyed in October unless funding is found soon to extend its life.
MirCorp, the private company which has responsibility for funding Mir, is optimistic it will gather the necessary funds for another two-month mission in November.
The company recently signed an agreement with an Italian firm, Itali-Mir which has agreed to provide 20 million dollars funding in return for putting an Italian cosmonaut on board the space station.
Russia, which is committed to building an International Space Station, has promised the United States, which is also involved in the project, that Mir will be entirely funded privately.
