Elena Serova signs in September 4 at the start of the second day of final qualification exams.

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 41/42 Flight Engineer Elena Serova of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signs in September 4 at the start of the second day of final qualification exams. Looking on is crewmate Barry Wilmore of NASA (left). Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of Roscosmos is hidden from view. The trio will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Sept. 26, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft for a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station. Serova will become the fourth Russian woman to fly in space and the first Russian woman to conduct a long duration mission on the station.

NASA/Stephanie Stoll