Russian cosmonaut and mission commander Oleg Kotov, bottom, U.S. astronaut Timothy J. Creame, center, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Soichi Noguchir, top, crew members of the mission to the International Space Station (ISS), gesture prior the launch of the Soyuz-FG rocket at the launch pad of the Russian-leased Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Monday, Dec. 21, 2009.[Xinhua/Reuters Photo]