Spacewalks on agenda for new space crew

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MOSCOW, Nov. 29 (UPI) -- The new crew for the International Space Station, preparing for their launch in December, will perform two spacewalks during their stay, Russian officials say.

Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield and U.S. astronaut Thomas Marshburn will be lifted into space in a Soyuz TMA-07M spacecraft from the Baikonur Space Center in Kazakhstan Dec. 19, RIA Novosti reported Thursday.

"The tasks of the Russian spacewalk include installing equipment for a new scientific experiment," Romanenko said.

"We will install an antenna and take samples of materials that will have spent more than a year exposed to cosmic radiation and weightlessness."

During their 147-day mission, the new ISS crew members joining Russian cosmonauts Oleg Novitsky and Yevgeny Tarelkin and NASA astronaut Kevin Ford as the Expedition 34 crew will also take part in docking and unloading six spacecraft: four Russian Progress cargo spacecraft, Europe's ATV-4 space freighter and the U.S. SpaceX-2 spacecraft.