Expedition 6 Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, left, Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev, and Commander Ken Bowersox, right, share a meal onboard the aircraft during their flight from Kazakhstan to Moscow on Tuesday, May 4, 2003. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

Expedition 6 Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, left, and Commander Ken Bowersox are greeted by Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev, right, on Tuesday, May 4, 2003, after their arrival in Astana, Kazakhstan. The Expedition 6 Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

STS091-370-035 (2-12 June 1998) --- Astronaut Charles J. Precourt (left), STS-91 mission commander; and Talgat A. Musabayev, Mir-25 commander, reunite following hatch opening.

May 4, 2003, Astana, Kazakhstan. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox (C), Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin (L) and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit (not pictured) are welcomed to Kazakhstan by Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev. The Expedition Six Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: "NASA/Bill Ingalls"

May 4, 2003, Astana, Kazakhstan. Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox (C), Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin (L) and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit (not pictured) are welcomed to Kazakhstan by Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev. The Expedition Six Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan. Photo Credit: "NASA/Bill Ingalls"

ISS002-356-011 (30 April ; 5 May 2001) --- The Soyuz 2 crewmembers pose for a photo in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station (ISS). From the left are American businessman Dennis Tito; and cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin, Soyuz 2 commander and flight engineer, respectively, representing Rosaviakosmos.

ISS002-356-012 (30 April – 5 May 2001) --- The Soyuz 2 crewmembers and astronaut James S. Voss (right), Expedition 2 flight engineer, pose for a group photo in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station (ISS). From the left are American businessman Dennis Tito; and cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin, Soyuz 2 commander and flight engineer, respectively, representing Rosaviakosmos.

ISS002-356-013 (30 April ; 5 May 2001) --- The Soyuz 2 crewmembers and astronaut Susan J. Helms (right), Expedition 2 flight engineer, pose for a group photo in the Zvezda Service Module on the International Space Station (ISS). From the left are American businessman Dennis Tito; and cosmonauts Talgat Musabayev and Yuri Baturin, Soyuz 2 commander and flight engineer, respectively, representing Rosaviakosmos.

ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN - Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox (center), Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin (left) and NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit (not pictured) are welcomed to Kazakhstan by Cosmonaut Talgat Musabayev. The Expedition Six Soyuz capsule landed in Kazakhstan. The Expedition Six crew spent 161 days in space, 159 manning the International Space Station. Photo Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

S97-17660 MIR-25 CREW PORTRAIT --- This portrait made in Russia of the Mir-25 crew. From the left are astronaut Andrew S. W. Thomas, cosmonaut guest researcher; cosmonaut Talgat A. Musabayev, flight engineer; and cosmonaut Nikolai Budarin, commander. Not pictured is French astronaut Leopold Eyharts, who will join this crew in mid-February 1998.

STS091-703-031 (2-12 June 1998) --- The STS-91 crew and the Mir-25 cosmonauts currently manning Russia's space station pose for the final joint inflight NASA-Mir portrait in the core module. Left to right are Valery V. Ryumin, Wendy B. Lawrence, Charles J. Precourt, Andrew S.W. Thomas, Talgat Musabayev, Janet L. Kavandi, Dominic C. Gorie, Nikolai Budarin and Franklin R. Chang-Diaz. Ryumin represents the Russian Aviation and Space Agency. Thomas ended up spending 141 days in space on this journey, including time aboard Endeavour and Discovery, which delivered and retrieved him to and from the Mir, respectively. Later the Discovery made the final undocking of an American Shuttle from the Mir complex, leaving Musabayev and Budarin, the current Mir crewmembers, behind. A pre-set 70-mm camera recorded the portrait. Photo Credit: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the Russian Aviation and Space Agency.