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At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) and Kate Rubins of NASA prepare to enter a Soyuz simulator Nov. 19 at the start of qualification exams. Along with Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, they are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Anatoly Ivanishin...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left), Kate Rubins of NASA (center) and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (right) listen to reporters��� questions in front of a Soyuz simulator Nov. 19 at the start of qualification exams. They are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Anatoly Ivanishin...

With St. Basil���s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow serving as a backdrop, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Kopra of NASA (left), Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (right) pose for pictures Nov. 23 after laying flowers at the Kremlin Wall where Russian space icons are interred. Peake, Malenchenko and Kopra will launch on Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

With St. Basil’s Cathedral in Red Square in Moscow serving as a backdrop, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Kopra of...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) signs in Nov. 19 for the start of qualification exams as his crewmates, Kate Rubins of NASA (left) and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (right, behind Ivanishin) look on. They are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin...

The Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers arrive in Baikonur, Kazakhstan Nov. 30 for final pre-launch preparations. Kate Rubins of NASA (left), Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA, right) will serve as backups to the prime crewmembers, Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Tim Kopra of NASA, who will launch Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA / Victor Zelentsov.

The Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers arrive in Baikonur, Kazakhstan Nov. 30 for final pre-launch preparations....

At the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 46-47 crewmember Tim Kopra of NASA lays flowers at the site where Russian space icons are interred in a ceremony Nov. 23. Looking on from left to right are backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and prime crewmembers Tim Peake of the European Space Agency and Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos. Peake, Malenchenko and Kopra will launch on Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Kremlin Wall in Red Square in Moscow, Expedition 46-47 crewmember Tim Kopra of NASA lays flowers at the site...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (left), Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Tim Kopra of NASA (right) answer reporters��� questions Nov. 30 in front of the statue of Vladimir Lenin before departing for their launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Malenchenko, Kopra and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency will launch Dec. 15 in their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA / Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Peake of the...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (left), Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Tim Kopra of NASA (right) pose for pictures Nov. 30 in front of the statue of Vladimir Lenin before departing for their launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Malenchenko, Kopra and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency will launch Dec. 15 in their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA / Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 crewmembers Tim Peake of the...

Behind their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the prime and backup Expedition 46-47 crewmembers pose for pictures Dec. 9 during a break in their training. From left to right are prime crewmembers Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency and Tim Kopra of NASA, and backup crewmembers Kate Rubins of NASA, Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency. Kopra, Peake and Malenchenko will launch Dec. 15 on their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

Behind their Cosmonaut Hotel crew quarters in Baikonur, Kazakhstan, the prime and backup Expedition 46-47...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency signs in Nov. 19 for the start of qualification exams. Onishi as his crewmates, Kate Rubins of NASA and Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Takuya Onishi of...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Kate Rubins of NASA (left), Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, center) and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (right) check in with Russian space officials Nov. 19 prior to their qualification exams. They are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmembers Kate Rubins of...

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Kate Rubins of NASA signs in Nov. 19 for the start of qualification exams as her crewmates, Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency look on. They are the backups to the prime crewmembers, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos, Tim Kopra of NASA and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch Dec. 15 in the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA/Seth Marcantel

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, Expedition 46-47 backup crewmember Kate Rubins of...

During a break from training, the Expedition 46-47 prime and backup crewmembers toured the Korolev Museum at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Dec. 10 and displayed a flag bearing the logo for the prime crew���s Soyuz mission. From left to right are backup crewmembers Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, prime crewmembers Tim Kopra of NASA, Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency who are holding the flag, and backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos. Kopra, Peake and Malenchenko will launch Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.

At the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia, the prime and backup Expedition 46-47 crewmembers pose for pictures Nov. 30 in front of the statue of Vladimir Lenin before departing for their launch site at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. From left to right are backup crewmembers, Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), Kate Rubins of NASA and Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and prime crewmembers Tim Peake of the European Space Agency (left), Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Tim Kopra of NASA. Malenchenko, Kopra and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency will launch Dec. 15 in their Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station..NASA / Seth Marcantel

During a break from training, the Expedition 46-47 prime and backup crewmembers toured the Korolev Museum at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan Dec. 10 and listened to museum curators discuss past Russian space memorabilia. From left to right are prime crewmember Tim Kopra of NASA, backup crewmember Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, prime crewmember Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, backup crewmember Kate Rubins of NASA, prime crewmember Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and backup crewmember Anatoly Ivanishin of Roscosmos. Kopra, Peake and Malenchenko will launch Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft for a six-month mission on the International Space Station...NASA/Victor Zelentsov.