With the statue of Vladimir Lenin serving as a backdrop, the Expedition 38/39 backup crewmembers pose for pictures October 26 at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia. From left to right are Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency, Max Suraev and Greg Wiseman of NASA. After the photo opportunity, the crewmembers flew to the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for final preparations for the launch of the prime crew, Soyuz commander Mikhail Tyurin, Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA Nov. 7, Kazakh time, in the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft to begin a six-month mission on the International Space Station.
NASA/Stephanie Stoll