The Expedition 36/37 backup crewmembers checked in in support of the prime crewmembers preparing for launch to the International Space Station.

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, the Expedition 36/37 backup crewmembers checked in for their qualification exams May 6 in support of the prime crewmembers preparing for launch to the International Space Station. From left to right are Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and NASA’s Rick Mastracchio. 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