Nasa's next crew for space to discuss mission on January 12

BY A CORRESPONDENT
6th January 2006

The next residents of the International Space Station will discuss their mission during a news conference at 3 p.m. EST Thursday, January 12 at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston.

The event is live on NASA TV with questions taken from reporters at agency centers. In March, Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov, NASA Flight Engineer Jeff Williams and Brazilian astronaut Marcos Pontes will launch aboard a Russian Soyuz (TMA-8) spacecraft. Vinogradov and Williams will spend six-months on the station. Pontes will spend eight days conducting research under a commercial agreement between the Brazilian Space Agency and the Russian Federal Space Agency. He will return to Earth April 1 with the Expedition 12 crew, Bill McArthur and Valery Tokarev, who have been in orbit since October.

After the news conference, all three will be available for a photo opportunity. Vinogradov and Williams will also do interviews with reporters in person or via telephone. The crew is at Johnson for U.S.-based training. They will return to the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia prior to launch.