The launch pad is seen just before sunrise, Monday, March 19, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 55 crewmembers Ricky Arnold and Drew Feustel of NASA and Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch at 1:44 p.m. Eastern time (11:44 p.m. Baikonur time) on March 21 and will spend the next five months living and working aboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 64 prime crew members, NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, left, Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, center, and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos pose for a photo in front of the Tsar Bell in Red Square after laying flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred as part of traditional pre-launch ceremonies, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020 in Moscow. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Spector)

Expedition 57 crew members Sergey Prokopyev of Roscosmos and Alexander Gerst of ESA (European Space Agency) attend a welcome ceremony at the Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan airport after they landed in their Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft with Serena Auñón-Chancellor of NASA on Thursday, Dec. 20, 2018. Auñón-Chancellor, Gerst, and Prokopyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 56 and 57 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz TMA-19M rocket is launched with Expedition 46 Soyuz Commander Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Flight Engineer Tim Kopra of NASA, and Flight Engineer Tim Peake of ESA (European Space Agency), Tuesday, Dec. 15, 2015 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. via NASA ift.tt/1jZR3nW

Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, left, and Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA say farewell to family as they depart building 254 for their launch on a Soyuz rocket, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz spacecraft's climb to orbit, an anomaly occurred, resulting in an abort downrange. The crew was quickly recovered and is in good condition. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

jsc2015e106109 (12/09/2015) --- At the Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, Expedition 46-47 prime crewmember Tim Kopra of NASA (right) took a hand at a game of ping-pong Dec. 9 as backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) looked on. Kopra, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos will launch Dec. 15 on their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station. Credit: NASA/Victor Zelentsov

Russian support personnel work around the Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft after it landed with Expedition 49 crew members NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016(Kazakh time). Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi are returning after 115 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 48 and 49 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 64 prime crew member NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, left, and backup crew member NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei are seen during a tour of the Baikonur Cosmodrome Museum, Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Rubins, Sergey Kud-Sverchkov of Roscosmos, and Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft on October 14. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

nhq201704100038 (April 10, 2017) --- Divots made by the Soyuz MS-02 capsule retro rockets during the landing are seen after Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA and Flight Engineers Sergey Ryzhikov and Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos landed near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Monday, April 10, 2017 (Kazakh time). Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are returning after 173 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 49 and 50 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

iss073e0881198 (Oct. 16, 2025) --- Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexey Zubritsky is pictured during a six-hour and nine-minute spacewalk on the International Space Station's Roscosmos segment 265 miles above Earth. Zubritsky helped install a semiconductor materials experiment, remove a high-resolution camera monoblock, clean a window on the Zvezda service module, and remove a materials exposure experiment container.

28 июля в 18:41 мск с космодрома Байконур был произведен успешный запуск пилотируемого корабля "Союз МС-05". В космический полет длительностью 139 суток отправились космонавт Роскосмоса Сергей Рязанский, астронавты Рэндолф Брезник (NASA) и Паоло Несполи (ESA).

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At 06:41 pm Moscow time on July 28 the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft was successfully launched from the launch pad complex Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, NASA astronaut Randolph Bresnik and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will return to Earth after 139 days in space.

Expedition 42 Cosmonaut Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) is carried in a chair from an all terrain vehicle (ATV) to a medical tent just minutes after he and NASA Astronaut Barry Wilmore of NASA, and Elena Serova of Roscosmos landed in their Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, March 12, 2015. NASA Astronaut Wilmore, Russian Cosmonauts Samokutyaev and Serova are returning after almost six months onboard the International Space Station where they served as members of the Expedition 41 and 42 crews. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket and Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is assembled at the Pad 1 complex at the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Saturday, April 15, 2017, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft is scheduled for April 20 Baikonur time and will send Expedition 51 Soyuz Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jack Fischer of NASA into orbit to begin their four and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (Roscosmos)

The Soyuz MS-01 spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 49 crew members NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 (Kazakh time). Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi are returning after 115 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 48 and 49 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 49 crew members flight engineer Shane Kimbrough, left, Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, center, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are seen in quarantine behind glass during a crew press conference Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 65 NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Novitskiy and Pyotr Dubrov depart the Cosmonaut Hotel to suit-up for their Soyuz launch to the International Space Station, Friday, April 9, 2021, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Later that same day the crew launched in their Soyuz MS-18 spacecraft to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

jsc2020e017090 (April 9, 2020) - Expedition 63 Preflight - Expedition 63 crewmember Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos has his Sokol suit pressure checked ahead of his launch on a Soyuz rocket with Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and Chris Cassidy of NASA, Thursday, April 9, 2020 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A few hours later, Vagner, Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and Chris Cassidy of NASA lifted off for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 49 Flight Engineers Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, front left, Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, front center, and Shane Kimbrough of NASA, front left, are seen with Flight Engineer Kate Rubins of NASA, back left, Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, back center, and Flight Engineer Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), back right, are seen on a screen at the Moscow Mission Control Center in Korolev, Russia a few hours after the Soyuz MS-02 docked to the International Space Station on Friday, Oct. 21, 2016 in Korolov, Russia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy arrives at the Karaganda Airport in Kazakhstan airport after he, NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik and, ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Paolo Nespoli landed in their Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Dec. 14, 2017. Bresnik, Nespoli and Ryazanskiy are returning after 139 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 52 and 53 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

jsc2020e017082 (April 9, 2020) - Expedition 63 Preflight - Expedition 63 crewmember Chris Cassidy of NASA, left, Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, center, and Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos pose for a group photo after suiting up and preparing for leak checks of their launch and entry suits at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan as they prepared for launch Thursday, April 9, 2020 on the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft. A few hours later, they lifted off for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

nhq202009280001 (Sept. 28, 2020) --- Expedition 64 NASA astronaut Kate Rubins, left, and Russian cosmonauts Sergey Ryzhikov, center, and Sergey Kud-Sverchkov, right, of Roscosmos take a moment during the Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft fit check to pose for a photograph, Monday, Sept. 28, 2020, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trio are preparing for launch to the International Space Station in their Soyuz MS-17 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on October 14, Baikonur time. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 41 prime crew members Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, far left, Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), second left, and Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos, center, are seen with Expedition 41 back up crew members, Flight Engineer Scott Kelly of NASA, third right, Soyuz Commander Gennady Padalka of Roscosmos, second right, and Flight Engineer Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos, right, during a press conference held at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, Sept. 24, 2014. The prime crew is set to launch to the International Space Station on Sept. 26 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Expedition 60 Soyuz Commander Alexander Skvortsov of Roscosmos, center, speaks during the State Commission meeting to approve the Soyuz launch of Expedition 60 to the International Space Station, Friday, July 19, 2019 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Skvortsov, Drew Morgan of NASA, left, and Luca Parmitano of ESA (European Space Agency), right, are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-13 spacecraft on Saturday, July 20. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Nick Hague of NASA says farewell to his sons after having his Sokol suit pressure checked ahead of his launch on a Soyuz rocket with Expedition 57 Flight Engineer Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, Thursday, Oct. 11, 2018 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. During the Soyuz spacecraft's climb to orbit, an anomaly occurred, resulting in an abort downrange. The crew was quickly recovered and is in good condition. Photo Credit: (NASA/Victor Zelentsov)

Matryoshka Dolls representing Expedition 52 Flight Engineer Peggy Whitson, left, Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, center, and Jack Fischer of NASA are seen at the Karaganda Airport welcome ceremony in Kazakhstan on Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017. 2017 (Kazakh time). Whitson returned after 288 days in space where she served as a member of the Expedition 50, 51 and 52 crews. Yurchikhin and Fischer returned after 136 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 51 and 52 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

The Soyuz rocket is transported by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Image of the day! The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft is seen as it lands with Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Sergey Volkov of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Wednesday, March 2, 2016 (Kazakh time). via NASA ift.tt/1Lw1RaL

Roscosmos Director General Dmitry Bakanov, left, Roscosmos Director of Human Spaceflight Programs Sergei Krikalev, NASA Deputy Administrator Matt Anderson, and NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, right, are seen as they await the arrival of the Expedition 75 crew: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov, and Anna Kikina, to board the Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft for launch, Tuesday, July 14, 2026 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket will send the trio on a mission to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 36 Flight Engineer Chris Cassidy of NASA is carried to the medical tent shortly after he and, Commander Pavel Vinogradov of Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), and Flight Engineer Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos landed in their Soyuz TMA-08M capsule in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Wednesday, Sept. 11, 2013. Vinogradov, Misurkin and Cassidy returned to Earth after five and a half months on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

nhq202103220015 (March 22, 2021) --- Expedition 65 backup crew members Russian cosmonaut Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos, left, Russian cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, center, and NASA astronaut Anne McClain, pose for a photo during Soyuz qualification exams Monday, March 22, 2021, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia, in advance of the Expedition 65 launch April 9 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 49 astronaut Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)rest in a chair shortly after he, Russian cosmonaut Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos, and NASA astronaut Kate Rubins landed in a remote area near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Sunday, Oct. 30, 2016 (Kazakh time). Rubins, Ivanishin, and Onishi are returning after 115 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 48 and 49 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 56 Flight Engineer Ricky Arnold of NASA, left, Flight Engineer and Soyuz Commander Oleg Artemyev of Roscosmos, center, and Expedition 56 Commander Drew Feustel of NASA lift their helmet visors after they landed inside their Soyuz MS-08 spacecraft near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan on Thursday, Oct. 4, 2018. Feustel, Arnold, and Artemyev are returning after 197 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 55 and 56 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti trains for a Russian spacewalk in the hydrolab at Roscosmos's Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Centre (GCTC).

Credit: GCTC

ID: SHL_8942

The Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft is rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, July 26, 2017. Expedition 52 flight engineer Sergei Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos, flight engineer Randy Bresnik of NASA, and flight engineer Paolo Nespoli of ESA (European Space Agency), are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on July 28. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

At 11:12 GMT (13:12 CEST), 6 June 2018, ESA astronaut Alexander Gerst was launched into space alongside NASA astronaut Serena Auñón-Chancellor and Roscosmos commander Sergei Prokopyev in the Soyuz MS-09 spacecraft from Baikonur cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The launch went as planned as the 50-m tall Soyuz rocket propelled the astronauts to their cruising speed of around 28 800 km/h. Within 10 minutes of rising from the pad, the trio travelled over 1640 km and gained 210 km altitude. Every second for nine minutes, their spacecraft accelerated 50 km/h on average.

The spacecraft is an improved model from the last time Alexander was launched into space in 2014 with many technological upgrades to make the spacecraft lighter and more modern. For example, halogen lights have been replaced with LEDs, and newer and larger solar panels increase power generation.

Over the next two days, while circling Earth 34 times, the trio will catch up with the International Space Station where they will spend the next six months. The journey is relatively smooth and quiet after the rigours of launch. With no Internet or satellite phones, the crew relies on radio to communicate at set intervals with ground control.

The German astronaut is a returning visitor to the International Space Station, the first of ESA’s 2009 class of astronauts to be sent into space for a second time. During the second part of his mission Alexander will take over as commander of the International Space Station, only the second time an ESA astronaut will take on this role so far.

Credits: ESA - S. Corvaja

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Norishige Kanai, left, Roscosmos cosmonaut Anton Shkaplerov, center, and NASA astronaut Scott Tingle are seen in a group photo with other others at a Karaganda Airport welcome ceremony in Kazakhstan on Sunday, June 3, 2018. Kandi, Shkaplerov, and Tingle are returning after 168 days in space where they served as members of the Expedition 54 and 55 crews onboard the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 75 backup crewmembers: Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, left, NASA astronuaut Deniz Burnham, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Dmitry Petelin, pose for a group photograph in the flame trench after the Soyuz rocket was raised into position at the Site 31 launch pad of the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Saturday, July 11, 2026. Expedition 75 crewmembers: NASA astronaut Anil Menon, Roscosmos cosmonauts Pyotr Dubrov and Anna Kikina are scheduled to launch aboard their Soyuz MS-29 spacecraft on July 14. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet gets his hair cut, Monday, Nov. 14, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson, Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, and ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet will launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan the morning of November 18 (Kazakh time.) All three will spend approximately six months on the orbital complex. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

jsc2020e017111 (April 9, 2020) - Expedition 63 Preflight - Expedition 63 crewmembers Anatoly Ivanishin, left, Ivan Vagner of Roscosmos, center, and Chris Cassidy of NASA depart building 254 via bus for the launch pad, Thursday, April 9, 2020 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. A few hours later, they lifted off on a Soyuz rocket for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)...

nhq202103200024 (March 20, 2021) --- Expedition 65 crew members NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, right, and Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy of Roscosmos, left, are seen during Soyuz qualification exams Saturday, March 20, 2021 at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia, in advance of their scheduled launch April 9 from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Andrey Shelepin)

Expedition 41 Soyuz Commander Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), right, receives the traditional blessing from a Russian Orthodox priest at the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to his launch on the Soyuz rocket to the International Space Station (ISS), Thursday, Sept. 25, in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Samokutyaev, Flight Engineer Elena Serova of Roscosmos, left, and Flight Engineer Barry Wilmore of NASA, not pictured, will spend the next five and a half months living and working aboard the ISS. Wilmore chose not to participate in the blessing. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Expedition 49 backup crew members Mark Vande Hei of NASA, left, Alexander Misurkin, center, and Nikolai Tikhonov of Roscosmos, left, pose for a picture after the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft arrives as the launch pad after being rolled out by train at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Sunday, Oct. 16, 2016. Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough of NASA, Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov of Roscosmos, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos are scheduled to launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

28 июля в 18:41 мск с космодрома Байконур был произведен успешный запуск пилотируемого корабля "Союз МС-05". В космический полет длительностью 139 суток отправились космонавт Роскосмоса Сергей Рязанский, астронавты Рэндолф Брезник (NASA) и Паоло Несполи (ESA).

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At 06:41 pm Moscow time on July 28 the Soyuz MS-05 spacecraft was successfully launched from the launch pad complex Baikonur cosmodrome. The crew consists of Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy, NASA astronaut Randolph Bresnik and ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli will return to Earth after 139 days in space.

The Soyuz rocket is transported by train to the launch pad, Tuesday, March 12, 2019 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos, will launch March 14, U.S. time, on the Soyuz MS-12 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-and-a-half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 47 Soyuz Commander Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos has his Russian Sokol suit pressure checked in preparation for launch aboard the Soyuz TMA-20M spacecraft on Friday, March 18, 2016 at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Launch of the Soyuz rocket is scheduled for the early hours of March 19 Baikonur time, and will carry Ovchinin and fellow crewmates, Flight Engineer Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos and Flight Engineer Jeff Williams of NASA into orbit to begin their five and a half month mission on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/Aubrey Gemignani)

Expedition 49 flight engineer Shane Kimbrough, left, answers a question during a crew press conference, as his crewmates Soyuz commander Sergey Ryzhikov, center, and flight engineer Andrey Borisenko of Roscosmos, right, look on, while in quarantine behind glass, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2016 at the Cosmonaut Hotel in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Kimbrough, Ryzhikov, and Borisenko are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station aboard the Soyuz MS-02 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome on Oct. 19. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)

Components of the descent module of the ExoMars 2020 mission.

The rear jacket, technological front shield, solar panels, the remaining ground support equipment, as well as other material to complete the assembly of the descent module and test program, arrived at Thales Alenia Space, Turin, Italy, from NPO Lavochkin JSC (part of the Roscosmos State Corporation) this week.

Credits: Roscosmos

Expedition 53 flight engineer Joe Acaba of NASA, left, Soyuz Commander Alexander Misurkin of Roscosmos, center, and Mark Vande Hei of NASA talk to family, friends, and colleagues as Expedition 53 backup crew members Shannon Walker of NASA, Anton Shkaplerov of Roscosmos, and Scott Tingle of NASA look on ahead of the crew's launch on a Soyuz rocket, Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2017, Building 254, Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan. Acaba, Misurkin, and Vande Hei will spend approximately five and half months on the International Space Station. Photo Credit: (NASA/GCTC/Irina Peshkova)

Roscosmos cosmonaut Konstantin Borisov, mission specialist of NASA's SpaceX Crew-7 mission to the International Space Station, smiles for a photograph during training at SpaceX in Hawthorne, California. Credit: SpaceX

Expedition 47 Russian cosmonaut Alexei Ovchinin is seen ahead of his Soyuz qualification exams with NASA astronaut Jeff Williams, and Oleg Skripochka of Roscosmos, Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2016, at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC) in Star City, Russia. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)