Expedition 42/43 crewmember Samantha Cristoforetti plants a tree bearing her name in traditional ceremonies.

Behind the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 42/43 crewmember Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (center) plants a tree bearing her name in traditional ceremonies Nov. 18. Looking on are crewmates Terry Virts of NASA (left) and Anton Shkaplerov of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, right). In the background are backup crewmembers Oleg Kononenko of Roscosmos and Kimiya Yui of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Virts, Cristoforetti and Shkaplerov will launch Nov. 24, Kazakh time, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in the Soyuz TMA-15M spacecraft for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.

NASA/Sergei Fyodorov