Expedition 40 Preflight

Expedition 40 Soyuz Commander Maxim Suraev of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Roscosmos, center, receives the traditional blessing from a Russian Orthodox priest at the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to his launch on the Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station, Wednesday, May 28, 2014, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Suraev, Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, ESA, left, and Flight Engineer Reid Wiseman of NASA, right, will spend the next five and a half months living and working aboard the ISS. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)