Photos: 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics and Space Travel

Cosmonaut Oleg Kotov Spacewalks with Olympic Torch

Spacewalker Oleg Kotov is seen with the Olympic torch outside the International Space Station, Nov. 9, 2013.

Olympic Rings at Soyuz Launch Pad

Olympic rings are seen at the Soyuz launch pad shortly after the Soyuz TMA-11M rocket was erected into position on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Soyuz Rocket Erected Next to Olympic Rings

The Olympic rings are seen as the Soyuz TMA-11M rocket is erected into position at the launch pad on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2013, at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Olympic Torch in Space Station

Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin holds the Olympic torch for the 2014 Olympic Games during a press conference on Nov. 7, 2013 between his Expedition 37/38 crew and Russia's Mission Control on Earth. The Olympic torch launched into space on a Soyuz space capsule and will taken on spacewalk on Nov. 9 before returning to Earth the next day.

Cosmonaut Awaits Olympic Torch

Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy waves as he awaits the Olympic torch in this view from cosmonaut Oleg Kotov during a Nov. 9, 2013 spacewalk outside the International Space Station. The spacewalk was the first time an Olympic torch ever was taken outside a spacecraft.

2014 Olympics Gold Medal

An example of the gold medal that will be awarded to athletes at the 2014 Sochi Olympic Winter Games in Russia.

Olympic Torch Back on Earth: Yurchikhin Holds Torch

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin holds the Olympic torch for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia after landing back on Earth in Kazakhstan Nov. 10, 2013 on a Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft with crewmates Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. The torch arrived at the space station on Nov. 7 with another Soyuz crew. [Read the Full Landing Day Story Here]

Olympic Torch Back on Earth: Expedition 37 Crew with Torch

NASA Flight Engineer Karen Nyberg, left, Expedition 37 Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, center holding the Olympic torch, and European Space Agency Flight Engineer Luca Parmitano sit in chairs outside the Soyuz capsule just minutes after they landed in a remote area outside the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan, on Nov. 10, 2013. [Read the Full Landing Day Story Here]

Olympic Torch Back on Earth: Soyuz Landing

Russian cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin holds the Olympic torch for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia after landing back on Earth in Kazakhstan Nov. 10, 2013 on a Soyuz TMA-09M spacecraft with crewmates Karen Nyberg of NASA and Luca Parmitano of the European Space Agency. The torch arrived at the space station on Nov. 7 with another Soyuz crew.

Passing the Olympic Torch in Space

Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergey Ryazanskiy prepare to pass the Olympic torch in space during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station on Nov. 9, 2013. Kotov is holding the torch, which will be used for the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi, Russia.