Backup crewmember Koichi Wakata prepares to enter a Soyuz spacecraft trainer support the prime crewmembers preparing for launch to the International Space Station.

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 36/37 backup crewmember Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency prepares to enter a Soyuz spacecraft trainer May 6 and he and his crewmates, backup Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and backup Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA support the prime crewmembers preparing for launch to the International Space Station. The prime crew, NASA’s Karen Nyberg, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency are set to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan in their Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft on May 29, Kazakh time, for a five-month mission.
NASA/Stephanie Stoll