Expedition 46-47 Backup Crew Members During a Traditional Kazakh Ceremony

During a tour of the museum in Baikonur, Kazakhstan Dec. 2, the Expedition 46-47 backup crew members were treated to a traditional ceremony in a Kazakh “yurt”, or tent as they a break from their training. From left to right are Anatoly Ivanishin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos), Kate Rubins of NASA and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). They are serving as backups to the prime crew members, Tim Kopra of NASA, Yuri Malenchenko of Roscosmos and Tim Peake of the European Space Agency, who will launch on Dec. 15 on the Soyuz TMA-19M spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome for a six-month mission on the International Space Station. NASA/Victor Zelentsov