Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko (left) and André Kuipers, ESA astronaut, met on 20 December 2011 with Don Pettit from NASA (not in photo) and backup crew members the Russian State Commission to approve the launch of Soyuz TMA-03M on 21 December from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, in Kazakhstan. Kuipers, Kononenko and Pettit will remain in space for nearly five months as part of the international crew of six aboard the ISS.