Soyuz TMA-16M is a 2015 flight to the International Space Station. It transported three members of the Expedition 43 crew to the Station. TMA-16M is the 125th flight of a Soyuz spacecraft, the first having launched in 1967. The Soyuz will most likely remain docked to the Station for the Expedition 44 increment to serve as an emergency escape vehicle until its scheduled departure in September 2015.
Scott Kelly and Mikhail Korniyenko will perform the first one-year stay at the Space Station, returning in Soyuz TMA-18M.
The patch shows the Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft coming in for docking with the space station. In the background, the outline of a stopwatch is visible, which, when combined with the three running figures, depicts the "marathon" theme of this crew, as two of its members aim for a record stay of twelve months and Soyuz commander Padalka will break the record for cumulative days in space. Three stars for the crew members, their names, the spacecraft identification and the Roscosmos logo complete the background of the stopwatch, while the Russian and American national colors form the outer border of the design.
