The ritual of space: why astronauts visit the Kremlin Wall

Space · Published 19 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Before heading into the vacuum of space, the next crew of the International Space Station performs a grounded tradition. They travel to Moscow to pay homage at the Kremlin Wall, a symbolic bridge between Earth's history and the frontier of human exploration.

The Expedition 25 crew, consisting of Russian cosmonauts Alexander Kaleri and Oleg Skripochka alongside NASA Flight Engineer Scott Kelly, participated in these traditional pre-launch activities in September 2010. The itinerary began at the Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Star City, where the crew engaged with the media before traveling to Moscow. Their primary objective was to lay flowers at the Kremlin Wall, a gesture of respect and remembrance that serves as a standard protocol for crews departing for the International Space Station (ISS).

This specific mission was part of a long lineage of orbital occupancy. The ISS has been continuously inhabited since Expedition 1 began in the year 2000. Since that inaugural mission, the orbital outpost has hosted over 270 individuals, making it a hub for sustained human presence in low Earth orbit. The transition from Earth to the ISS involves complex logistical coordination, including training in specialized facilities like Star City and preparing for launches from sites such as the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

The journey to the ISS is a multi-stage process. For Expedition 25, the crew departed on September 25, 2010, for the Baikonur Cosmodrome, eventually launching aboard a Soyuz spacecraft on October 7. These traditions highlight the cultural and historical weight carried by astronauts. Even as space exploration evolves toward new programs like Artemis and utilizes commercial partners like SpaceX for crew transport, the underlying human element—honoring the past while moving toward the future—remains a constant in the narrative of spaceflight.

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