Expedition 59 Crew Blessing

Expedition 59 backup crewmember Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency is blessed by a Russian Orthodox Priest in the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to departing for the prime crew's launch on a Soyuz rocket, Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos launched 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 59 backup crewmember Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency is blessed by a Russian Orthodox Priest in the Cosmonaut Hotel prior to departing for the prime crew's launch on a Soyuz rocket, Thursday, March 14, 2019 in Baikonur, Kazakhstan. Expedition 59 crewmembers Nick Hague and Christina Koch of NASA, along with Alexey Ovchinin of Roscosmos launched 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)

Photographer NASA/Bill Ingalls
BaikonurBlessingCosmonaut HotelESA European Space Agency Expedition 59Expedition 59 PreflightKazakhstanLuca ParmitanoRoscosmos