Expedition 36/37 Rick Mastracchio enjoy a Kazakh meal in a Kazakh tent known as a yurt in Baikonur Kazakhstan May 19.

Joining their unidentified Kazakh host (left), Expedition 36/37 backup crewmembers Rick Mastracchio of NASA (center) and Koichi Wakata of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (right) enjoy a traditional Kazakh meal in a Kazakh tent known as a “yurt” in Baikonur, Kazakhstan May 19. Their visit, along with backup crewmate Mikhail Tyurin was part of traditional ceremonies as they serve as backups to prime crewmembers Karen Nyberg of NASA, Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency, who are preparing for launch May 29, Kazakh time, in their Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft to begin a 5 ½ month mission on the International Space Station.

NASA/Victor Zelentsov