Expedition 34 Preflight

Expedition 34/35 Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn of NASA, left, receives the traditional blessing from a Russian Orthodox priest at the Cosmonaut Hotel on the morning of their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station on Wednesday, Dec. 19, 2012, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of a Soyuz rocket later in the afternoon will send Marshburn, Roman Romanenko of Russia and Chris Hadfield of Canada on a five-month mission aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Carla Cioffi)