The head of Roscosmos Vladimir Popovkin pose for pictures with the Expedition 30/31 prime and backup crewmembers.

At the headquarters of the Russian Federal Space Agency, the head of Roscosmos, Vladimir Popovkin (fourth from the left) and Alexei Krasnov (third from the right) pose for pictures with the Expedition 30/31 prime and backup crewmembers Dec. 6, 2011 prior to their departure Dec. 8 for their launch site in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. From left to right are prime crewmembers NASA Flight Engineer Don Pettit, Flight Engineer Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency and Soyuz Commander Oleg Kononenko, Popovkin, backup Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko, Krasnov, backup NASA Flight Engineer Suni Williams and backup Flight Engineer Aki Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Pettit, Kuipers and Kononenko will launch to the International Space Station Dec. 21 in their Soyuz TMA-03M spacecraft.

Credit: NASA