Samantha's Sokol suit

ESA astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti with the Sokol suit she will wear in the Soyuz spacecraft that will take her to the International Space Station on 23 November at 20:59 GMT (21:59 CET), together with Roscosmos commander Anton Shkaplerov and NASA astronaut Terry Virts.

Sokol suits, tailored to each astronaut, are worn in Soyuz as protection against air leaks. Once Samantha arrives at the Space Station on 24 November at 02:59 GMT (03:59 CET), the astronauts will store their suits for their return flight to Earth. Before launch, the suits are checked for leaks by inflating them to high pressure, as shown here.

Samantha, Anton and Terry will stay on the International Space Station for almost six months. Follow Samantha and her Futura mission via samanthacristoforetti.esa.int