Here comes another giant leap for mankind

For the ultimate parachute jump, Felix Baumgartner will leap from a balloon at the edge of space and plummet 36576m to the ground.

After 35 seconds, he will break the sound barrier and finally, at 1524m, he will deploy his parachute and, he hopes, land without mishap.

During his 10-minute journey to earth, the Austrian will travel at more than 1110km/h inside a suit that must protect him from temperatures as low as -60C.

He will rely on oxygen tanks - because the air on the edge of space will be too thin to breathe - and hope that he does not black out on the way down.

This week his team will announce that the attempt at the record-breaking jump will take place in August, in the skies above New Mexico.

Baumgartner who, in 2003, became the first person to skydive across the English Channel, will take two test jumps - at 18288m and 27432m - in the coming months.

Speaking about being given the chance to make the jump, he said: "I am struggling to find the right words to express my happiness; how relieved and motivated I am."

Baumgartner said he hoped the stunt would provide valuable information on how humans will cope with space tourism, and open up new types of extreme sports.

"You are worried about being where humans shouldn't be.

"To jump and break the sound barrier will not be a mere record-breaking experience or another extreme event that ends once the mission is accomplished.

"This is an experience not unlike the first human landing on the moon, and it will benefit scientific research."

Baumgartner is hoping to beat a record held for 50 years by Joe Kittinger, a US air force colonel who jumped from 31333m in 1960.