A Russian astronaut has pledged to take the Gospels with him whem he heads to the International Space Station later this month.

Sergey Ryzhikov, aged 42, also said the new crew at the station have the call sign "Tabor" after Mount Tabor, the site of the transfiguration of Jesus.

Ryzhikov was speaking at a press conference in the Astronaut Training Center at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre.

He said he will take "the Gospels, icons, letters from his relatives and stones from Mount Tabor", Russian media reported.

His spiritual freight shows how far Russia has come from the early days of its exploration of space. Yuri Gagarin, the first human in space and the man after whom the cosmonaut training centre is named, is said to have remarked that he "looked and looked, but didn't see God" on his return to earth, though the quote is disputed and may derive from a dismissive comment by then Russian leader Nikita Kruschev. 

Last week, a US astronaut described the humbling experience of witnessing at first hand in space "the amazing creative work of God". US astronaut Jeff Williams, commander of the International Space Station's Expedition 48, spoke to Albert Mohler, president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, through a NASA link. Williams takes beautiful pictures and has tweeted them regularly from the station.