The state commission at the Baikonur space center in Kazakhstan has approved the crew of a new expedition to the International Space Station (ISS) who are scheduled to reach the orbiter onboard a Soyuz MS-08 spaceship, a spokesman for Russia’s State Space Corporation Roscosmos told TASS on Tuesday.

"The basic crew comprises Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev and NASA astronauts Andrew Feustel and Richard Arnold," the spokesman said.

The launch launch of the Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft to the International Space Station is scheduled for 20:44 Moscow time on March 21 from launching pad number 1. The spacecraft is expected to dock with the ISS at 22:41 Moscow time on March 23.