Yuri Koptev of the Russian space agency RKA said a decision on a 45-day manned mission would be made January 20, with the cosmonauts' launch scheduled for March 30.

Viktor Blagov, deputy director of the space control centre, told radio Echo the cosmonauts would carry out scientific experiments, repair leaks, and maintain Mir.

He said the space station was in good condition, and that a leak in one module could be fixed by repumping it every four or five months.

Officials would decide while the cosmonauts were there whether to keep Mir going or abandon it definitively, he said.

In that case, the cosmonauts would shut down the 13-year-old Mir's systems to prepare the craft for destruction as it re-enters the earth's atmosphere.

Mir has been unmanned since August, for the first time since its was placed in orbit in 1986.

Russia was forced to suspend Mir's operations because RKA could not cover its costs and also participate in the next-generation International Space Station.

The ITAR-TASS news agency reported Wednesday, citing the Russian space company Energia, that a US firm, Golden Apple, would contribute 20 million dollars to the cosmonauts' flight, and had already handed over seven million dollars.