Table of Contents

Backgrounder

Expedition 19 - The Mission

Expedition Crew

The International Space Station (ISS) began a new era in exploration by allowing humans to take up permanent residence in space. This all began in 2000 as the three crewmembers of Expedition 1 became the first space residents aboard the Station.

Since then, the ISS has had a permanent crew, with new members rotating during crew exchange flights. A transition or hand-over period is planned in advance before the arrival of the new residents. Once the new members have boarded the ISS, the outgoing crew brief them on safety, vehicle changes and payload operations.

Each Expedition crew is lead by a commander; other crewmembers are assigned responsibilities based on their field of expertise and range from space walking to the robotic operations, conducting of science, medical support to the crew, etc.

Dr. Robert Thirsk

Astronauts, cosmonauts and space flight participants from 11 nations have visited the ISS or lived aboard the Station as Expedition crewmembers. However, Expedition 19 is a milestone, it represents the first time that the ISS will be staffed by a six-person international crew. It will also set a Canadian milestone, since it will be the first time a Canadian will become a long-term resident of the ISS.

Canadian Space Agency Astronaut Robert Thirsk will have the privilege to expand the boundaries of space exploration by living and working on board the ISS for a period of 4 to 6 months. Dr. Thirsk main responsibilities during this mission will include:

• Robotics Operations
• Science Officer

Recruited in 1983, Dr. Thirsk served as back up to Marc Garneau's historical first space flight. He is also a veteran of a Space Shuttle flight STS-78 in 1996. Canadian Astronaut Chris Hadfiled will train and serve as his back up.

Expedition 19

Expedition 19 is the 19th long duration flight to the ISS. It is during this increment that the ISS will transition from three to six crewmembers.

Expedition 19 crewmembers are:

• Gennady Padalks, Commander - Russia
• Michael Barratt, Flight Engineer 1 - United States
• Nicole Stott, Flight Engineer 2 - United States
• Yuri Lonchakov, Flight Engineer 3 - Russia
• Frank De Winne, Flight Engineer 4 - Europe
• Robert Thirsk, Flight Engineer 5 - Canada

Scientific Objectives of the Mission

For the first time, the ISS will be housing a crew of 6 people as originally designed. The benefits of a larger crew are more people to assume responsibilities for the construction and maintenance of the ISS, while offering more precious time to conduct science aboard the world's largest floating micro-gravity research station.