The Expedition 30/31 prime crewmembers share a moment with Russian officials in a ceremonial send off in Baikonur Kazakhstan.

At the headquarters of the Russian Federal Space Agency, the Expedition 30/31 prime crewmembers share a moment with Russian space officials in a ceremonial send off Dec. 6, 2011 prior to their departure for their launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Dec. 8. From left to right are NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, European Space Agency Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers and Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko. The trio are scheduled to launch Dec. 21 from Baikonur to the International Space Station in their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft.

Credit: NASA