The Expedition 38/39 prime and backup crewmembers participated as they conduct final pre-launch preparations.

Outside their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the Expedition 38/39 prime and backup crewmembers participated in the traditional flag-raising ceremony October 27 as they conduct final pre-launch preparations. From left to right, prime Soyuz Commander Mikhail Tyurin and backup Max Suraev raise the Russian flag, prime Flight Engineer Rick Mastracchio of NASA and backup Reid Wiseman of NASA raise the U.S. flag, prime Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency raises the Japanese flag and backup Flight Engineer Alexander Gerst of the European Space Agency raises the flag of Kazakhstan. Wakata, Tyurin and Mastracchio will launch Nov. 7, Kazakh time, in the Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft from Baikonur to begin a six-month mission on the International Space Station.

NASA/Victor Zelentsov