jsc2011e212761

At the Kremlin in Moscow, the backup and prime crews for the next launch of Expedition 30 crewmembers to the International Space Station pose for pictures Dec. 1, 2011 in front of the Tsar Bell following traditional ceremonial activities at Red Square. From left to right are backup Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, backup NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams, backup Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the prime crew --- NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers will launch Dec. 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft. Credit: NASA

At the Kremlin in Moscow, the backup and prime crews for the next launch of Expedition 30 crewmembers to the International Space Station pose for pictures Dec. 1, 2011 in front of the Tsar Bell following traditional ceremonial activities at Red Square. From left to right are backup Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, backup NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams, backup Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and the prime crew --- NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko and Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency. Pettit, Kononenko and Kuipers will launch Dec. 21 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft. Credit: NASA