Sunita Williams along with two other astronauts on Tuesday docked their Russian spacecraft at the International Space Station for a four-month stay.
The two other astronauts are Russian Yuri Malenchenko and Japanese Akihiko Hoshide.

When these three astronauts hatch, they will join current station residents Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineers Joe Acaba. ‘Hatching’ in space terms means to cross the hatchway( a sort of bridge) between space shuttle and the International Space Staion to reach inside the Station. After that, there is a traditional welcome ceremony and the station safety briefing followed by it. The shuttle and station crews then begin their joint operations for the coming days.

The spacecraft had earlier taken off on July 14, from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. It arrived at the ISS after two days in orbit.

The crew which will return home in mid-November is expected to conduct over 30 scientific missions during their stay aboard the ISS.