New ISS mission crew leaving for the station on March 26 carried out demonstrational training on Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft for the journalists.
Prime crew consisting of Alexander Skvortsov (crew commander), Oleg Artemyev (flight engineer), Stephen Swanson (flight engineer) and back-up crew of Alexander Samokutyayev (crew commander), Elena Serova (flight engineer), Barry Wilmore (flight engineer) carried out the following demonstrational trainings for the journalists: on Soyuz TMA-12M spacecraft manual docking with the ISS, vestibular trainings and physical trainings.
The crews also planted the trees on Cosmonauts’ Alley in accordance with the long-standing tradition. It was Yuri Gagarin who was the first to plant the tree on the Cosmonauts’ Alley. This tradition started along with the first manned launches and is carefully followed by the cosmonauts of all generations.
Image credit – Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center
