Space Station's Expedition 34 Mission in Pictures (Gallery)

Expedition 33 Routine Operations Training Session

NASA

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford (second right), Expedition 33 flight engineer and Expedition 34 commander; along with Russian cosmonauts Evgeny Tarelkin (left) and Oleg Novitskiy, both Expedition 33/34 flight engineers, participate in a routine operations training session in the Space Vehicle Mock-up Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Crew instructor Clinton Balmain (right) assisted the crew members. Photo released July 20, 2012.

Astronaut Ford in Spacesuit Fit Check

NASA

NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, Expedition 33 flight engineer and Expedition 34 commander, participates in an Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) spacesuit fit check in the Space Station Airlock Test Article (SSATA) in the Crew Systems Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Technicians assisted Ford. Image released June 25, 2012.

Space Hippo of Russia: Expedition 33/34 Launch

NASA TV

A small toy hippo with the Cyrillic word for "Russia" hangs inside the Soyuz TMA-06 space capsule to serve as a zero-g indicator for Expedition 33/34 crewmembers Oleg Novitskiy, Kevin Ford and Evgeny Tarelkin during their Oct. 23, 2012, launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The toy was a gift to Novitskiy, Soyuz commander, by his teenage daughter Yana

A Hippo Rides Into Space: Expedition 33/34 Launch

NASA TV

A small toy hippo hangs inside the Soyuz TMA-06 space capsule to serve as a zero-g indicator for Expedition 33/34 crewmembers Oleg Novitskiy, Kevin Ford and Evgeny Tarelkin during their Oct. 23, 2012, launch from Baikonur Cosmodrome. The toy was a gift to Novitskiy, Soyuz commander, by his teenage daughter Yana

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