A Russian Soyuz spacecraft is on its way to deliver a new crew to the International Space Station.

The Soyuz blasted off early Wednesday from Kazakhstan with Russian cosmonaut Sergei Volkov, Japanese astronaut Satoshi Furukawa, and U.S. astronaut Michael Fossum.

They are expected to arrive at the space station Thursday for a five-month stay. While in orbit, they will greet the Space Shuttle Atlantis — which makes its farewell journey next month as the very last U.S. space shuttle mission.

Meanwhile, scientists on Earth are asking the current space station crew to take as many pictures as possible of Chile's Puyehue Volcano, which erupted Saturday after 51 years of inactivity.

The space station circles the globe once every 90 minutes.