In Photos: Expedition 51 Mission to the Space Station

Expedition 51 is comprised of five crewmembers (from the left: Jack Fischer, Fyodor Yurchikhin, Thomas Pesquet, Peggy Whitson and Oleg Novitskiy). FIscher and Yurchikhin will fly to the International Space Station on April 20, 2017. The other three have been there since November 2016.

Expedition 51 official crew patch

Peggy whitson became commander of the space station on April 9. She is the first woman to command the space station twice.

Expedition 51 crewmembers Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) and Jack Fischer of NASA (right) answered questions from the press at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Facility in Star City, Russia. The March 31, 2017 interview took place at a Soyuz spacecraft mockup on day two of the final qualification exams for the astronauts. Yurchikhin and Fischer are set to begin Expedition 51 on April 20 in the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Expedition 51 is a four and a half month mission to the International Space Station.

On November 28, 2016 during a space suit training session, NASA astronaut Jack Fischer prepares for his upcoming journey to the International Space Station for Expedition 51.

On April 5, 2017 Expedition 51 crewmember Jack Fischer of NASA adds his Expedition crew patch to the wall of the cabin on a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft.

Expedition crewmembers Jack Fischer of NASA and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) travel to Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center aircraft for the last phase of pre-launch training.

On April 6, 2017 at the Integration Building at Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, left) and Jack Fischer of NASA (right), Expedition 51 crewmembers prepare for a April 20, 2017 launch to the International Space Station.

A leak check of the Russian Sokol launch and entry suit for Expedition 51 crew member Jack Fischer of NASA takes place before pre-launch preparations inside the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft. Fischer and his crewmate Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) launch for the ISS on April 20, 2017.

Expedition 51 crew Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos, front row, left) and Jack Fischer of NASA (front row, right), and backup crew Sergey Ryazanskiy of Roscosmos (back row, left) and Randy Bresnik of NASA (back row, right) pose for pictures in the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The astronauts are finishing up pre-launch training at the center for the April 20, 2017 launch.

Expedition 51 crew member Jack Fischer of NASA slips into his seat aboard the Soyuz MS-04 spacecraft during pre-launch training prep at the Integration Building at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazahkstan. On April 20, 2017, Fischer and Fyodor Yurchikhin of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) begin their journey to the International Space Station.

Astronauts Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency), Oleg Novitskiy of the Russian space agency Roscosmos, and Peggy Whitson of NASA pose for a group photo at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, Russia during qualification exams for their Expedition 50/51 mission to the International Space Station.