Expedition 44 crew members made up of Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko, Japanese Astronaut Kimiya Yui and American NASA astronaut Kjell N. Lindgren boarded their Soyuz TMA-17M spacecraft today in Kazachstan ahead of their planned launch to the International Space Station.

They will arrive later tonight for their 6 month stay onboard the complex to conduct research and science experiments.