The International Space Station's (ISS) Expedition 37 begins with the scheduled undocking of Soyuz TMA-08M in September 2013. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz TMA-10M.
Expedition 37 will be commanded by Roscosmos cosmonaut Fyodor Yurchikhin. His crewmates, all flight engineers, include: cosmonauts Oleg Kotov and Sergei Ryazansky, NASA astronauts Karen Nyberg and Michael Hopkins, and ESA astronaut Luca Parmitano.
[b]ISS Expedition 37 insignia[/b]
Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man, created some 525 years ago, as a blend of art and science and a symbol of the medical profession, is depicted amongst the orbits of a variety of satellites circling the Earth at great speed.
Da Vinci's drawing, based on the proportions of man as described by the Roman architect Vitruvius, is often used as a symbol of symmetry of the human body and the universe as a whole. Almost perfect in symmetry as well, the International Space Station, with its solar wings spread out and illuminated by the first rays of dawn, is pictured as a mighty beacon arcing upwards across our night skies, the ultimate symbol of science and technology of our age.
Six stars represent the six members of Expedition 37 crew, which includes two cosmonauts with a medical background, as well as a native of Da Vinci's Italy.