Image: Outbound ESA spacesuits

Roscosmos commander Yuri Malenchenko, NASA astronaut Tim Kopra and ESA astronaut Tim Peake stand by the Sokol suits they will wear on launch day, 15 December.

Soyuz astronauts get to try their spacecraft and suits for the first time two weeks before being launched to the International Space Station. Each suit and spacecraft seat is tailor-made for comfort and safety.

Here, the Expedition 46/47 astronauts are inflating their Sokol suits to ensure there are no leaks. The suits will protect them in case of a sudden loss of pressure inside the Soyuz.

The trio have a six-month mission planned and are spending their last days on Earth preparing for the flight into space.