Soyuz TMA-03M launched 2011

Soyuz TMA-03M crew (L-R): Donald Pettit, Oleg Kononenko, Andre Kuipers

Mission patch

Soyuz TMA-03M, launched December 21, 2011, carried members of Expedition 30 to the International Space Station.  Its crew consisted of Commander Oleg Kononenko (Roscosmos), Andre Kuipers (ESA), and Donald Pettit (NASA).  They returned to Earth July 2012, which marked the end of Expedition 31 and the beginning of Expedition 32.

Happy birthday, cosmonaut Oleg Kononenko!

Oleg Kononenko, born June 21, 1964 in the former Soviet Union, has been into space four times.

His first flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-12 to the International Space Station in April 2008.  He participated in Expedition 17 and returned to Earth in October 2008.

His second mission was as commander aboard Soyuz TMA-03M in December 2011 to the ISS.  He participated in Expeditions 30 and 31.  He returned to Earth in July 2012.

Kononenko's third flight was aboard Soyuz TMA-17M as commander to the ISS in July 2015.  He participated in Expeditions 44 and 45.  He returned to Earth in December 2015.

His fourth flight was aboard Soyuz MS-11 as commander to the ISS in June 2018.  He participated in Expeditions 58 and 59. He returned to Earth in December 2018.

He has conducted 4 EVAs for a total of 24 hours and 28 minutes.

Happy birthday, Dutch astronaut André Kuipers

Andre Kuipers, born October 5, 1958 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is the second Dutch citizen and the third Dutch-born astronaut in space.  The first Dutch-born astronaut, Lodewijk van den Berg was born in Zeeland but had become a U.S. citizen when he flew on the Space Shuttle, so was no longer a Dutch citizen. 

Kuipers was accepted into the ESA Astronaut Corps in 1998.  His first trip into space was aboard Soyuz TMA-4 in April 2004 to the International Space Station.  He conducted 21 experiments in just 11 days before returning to Earth aboard Soyuz TMA-3.

He returned to space December 2011 aboard Soyuz TMA-03M to the ISS as the Flight Engineer and Medical Crew Officer.  He remained until July 1, 2012 when he returned to Earth.