Iran is planning to launch three satellites in the near future, the Iranian embassy in Moscow said Wednesday.

According to a statement posed on the embassy's website, the first launch of a satellite named "Fajr" was scheduled for May 24. The service life of Fajr is expected to last 18 months.

Apart from Fajr, two other satellites, "Tolu" and "Mesbah", are also ready for launch, the embassy said.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Space Agency is planning to launch a space vehicle with biological objects into space, as a pre-step for the country's first manned space flight, the embassy said.

According to the embassy, Iran previously launched satellites in February 2009, June 2011 and February but "Fajr is more advanced in terms of the technologies used."

Fajr, weighing 50 kg, was equipped with cameras and evaluation facilities. Iran expects the satellite could provide and transmit pictures to ground stations.

Source: Xinhua News Agency