The Expedition 59 mission to the International Space Station begins on March 14, 2019 when the Soyuz MS-12 crew capsule arrives at the station with Russian cosmonaut Aleksey Ovchinin and NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch. The other half of the six-person crew arrived with the Soyuz MS-11 in December 2018 during Expedition 58.
During the six-month mission, astronauts will conduct hundreds of science experiments and embark on several spacewalks to repair and upgrade the orbiting laboratory. Click through this gallery to see the Expedition 59 crew in action!
Above: The official Expedition 59 group portrait. From left to right: Canadian Space Agency astronaut David Saint-Jacques, NASA astronaut Anne McClain, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Alexey Ovchinin, NASA astronauts Nick Hague and Christina Koch.
On March 14, 2019, these three Expedition 59 crewmembers will launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft. Rookie NASA astronaut Christina Koch (left) will join veteran cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (center) and NASA astronaut Nick Hague for a 6.5-month space mission.
Ovchinin and Hague were on board the Soyuz MS-10 spacecraft together during a launch failure on Oct. 11, 2018. Their mission was aborted just a few minutes after liftoff. That launch was Hague's first spaceflight experience. Before Expedition 59, Ovchinin had already logged 172 days in space as a member of Expedition 47/48 in 2016.
Roscosmos staff at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan prepare the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft for encapsulation on top of the Russian Soyuz rocket booster on March 6, 2019, about one week ahead of its planned launch to the International Space Station.
The Expedition 59 prime and backup crewmembers pose with a miniature model of a Russian Soyuz rocket at the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, on March 7, 2019.
The three prime crewmembers are on the left: NASA astronaut Nick Hague, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin and NASA astronaut Christina Koch. To the right of the little rocket are the backup crewmembers: NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano.
A train hauls a Russian Soyuz rocket out to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 12, 2019, two days ahead of its planned launch of the Soyuz MS-12 crew capsule that will carry three astronauts to the International Space Station.
The Soyuz rocket rolls out to its launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 12, 2019.
The Russian Soyuz rocket is erected onto the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on March 12, 2019, two days ahead of its planned launch.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch signs a ceremonial book during pre-launch activities at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, on Feb. 21, 2019. Her two Soyuz MS-12 crewmembers, Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (center) and NASA astronaut Nick Hague (right) look on.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch plants a tree in her name outside of the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, as part of a pre-launch tradition on March 7, 2019. Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (center) and NASA astronaut Nick Hague help out.
Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin (left), NASA astronaut Nick Hague (center) and NASA astronaut Christina Koch (right) take a group photo with crew insignia stickers aboard a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft on Feb. 26, 2019, when they flew from Star City, Russia to the launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Russian cosmonaut Alexey Ovchinin works inside a Soyuz spacecraft simulator at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, during pre-launch qualification exams on Feb. 20, 2019.
NASA astronaut Nick Hague conducts a launch suit pressure check during pre-launch training in Star City, Russia, on Feb. 27, 2019.
NASA astronaut Christina Koch works inside the Soyuz MS-12 crew capsule during pre-launch training in Star City, Russia, on Feb. 27, 2019.
Expedition 59 crewmembers Christina Koch (left), Alexey Ovchinin (center) and Nick Hague (right) take a fun photo with their Sokol launch and entry suits on Feb. 27, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.
Clad in their Sokol launch and entry suits, the prime crew of Expedition 59 poses with their backup crew (donning the blue flight suits) during pre-launch training in Star City, Russia, on Feb. 27, 2019.
Front Row (from left to right): Christina Koch, Alexey Ovchinin and Nick Hague
Back Row: Drew Morgan, Alexander Skvortsov and Luca Parmitano
The official mission insignia for Expedition 59.
The backup crew for Expedition 59 pose with the Soyuz rocket as it rolls to the launch pad on March 12, 2019. From left to right: NASA astronaut Drew Morgan, Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano