This is the official-and I stress that, official-photo released by NASA for an upcoming expedition to the International Space Station. The awesomeness is so extraordinary it can’t be contained by one measly class M planet. And if you know what’s wrong with that last sentence, you earn your geek badge of the day.

Paul Waldman is a weekly columnist and senior writer for The American Prospect. He also writes for the Plum Line blog at The Washington Post and The Week and is the author of Being Right Is Not Enough: What Progressives Must Learn From Conservative Success. Follow @paulwaldman1