Trio on the way to Christmas tree in space station ISS

baikonoer - A Russian, a Japanese and an American are on their way to the international space station ISS. The three went on the Sunday from the base Baikonur in Kazakhstan by Soyuz rocket.

The cosmonaut Anton Sjkaplerov and the astronauts Norishige Kanai and Scott Tingle stay in the space station for six months. They are on their way to the ISS for two days, Tuesday they arrive. At just over 400 kilometers from the earth, the American and the Japanese can start almost immediately on the preparations for Christmas and New Year. The Russian celebrates that two weeks later. There is at least a Christmas tree aboard the space station.

The newcomers are welcomed by a Russian and two Americans who have been staying there since September. Over the next six months they will have to work hard and carry out around 250 technical, biological and medicinal experiments.