Expedition
30 will start with the departure of the Soyuz TMA-02M Vehicle with the
Expedition 28/29 Crew aboard. Increment 30 will end with the departure of Soyuz
TMA-22 in March 2011. The Mission
will feature ISS Maintenance Operations and cutting edge science operations
aboard the International Space Station. The Commander of the Expedition will be
NASA Astronaut and veteran Space Resident Dan Burbank.
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The Crew Patch
The ISS Expedition 30 Patch shows the fully assembled International Space Station to mark the major milestone of the completion of the assembly of the orbiting complex. Also on the patch is a sunlit Earth limb with the distinctive portrayal of Earth's surface illuminated by night-time city lights as a reminder of mankind's presence on Earth. The entire Planet being depicted is also a symbol for the international cooperation that is part of the ISS Program. Aboard ISS, research is conducted that will enable humans to eventually leave the bonds of Earth Orbit and explore farther places. This is symbolized by the stars in the background. On the edge of the Patch, the names of the six crewmembers can be read. |
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The Crew
Click Images for more Info
Click Images for more Info
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Expedition Timeline
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Photo: NASA
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Spacewalks
Photo: NASA
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There is no
US based spacewalk planned for Expedition 30. However, crewmembers will
constantly maintain the US Space Suits (EMUs) that are aboard the Station for
the event of a contingency EVA due to failures of external equipment.
A Russian Stage EVA is planned for Expedition 30. It is scheduled to occur on February 14, 2012. Oleg Knonenko and Anton Shkaplerov will step out to perform this 6 hour EVA. Many tasks are planned for this Spacewalk including the installation of debris shields on the Zveda Service Module, also, the Strela1 crane will be moved from the Pirs Docking Compartment to MRM2 (Mini Research Module 2) – this was a task on a Russian based EVA but couldn’t be completed due to timeline constraints in this 2011-EVA. The Installation of the Vynoslivost Experiment Payload is scheduled to be performed on this EVA as well. This payload will expose a variety of metal samples to the Environment of Space for one and three years. These samples will be returned to Earth for analyses. |
Visiting Vehicles
Photo: NASA
Expedition
30 will see several Visitng Vehicles delivering Cargo to the ISS. Currently
planned to dock with ISS during Increment 30 is the Progress M-14M. This
spacecraft will deliver about 3 tons of supplies to the Crew. Before this
Progress arrives at ISS, the M-13M Vehicle will undock from the Station to make
room for the new cargo vehicle.
The most important visiting vehicle will be the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule bringing three crewmembers to ISS: Oleg Kononenko, Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit are expected to launch in December 2011 for a docking on December 23.
The ATV-3 Mission will launch during Expedition 30, but docking is set to occur three days after the Expedition ends with TMA-22 Undocking.
SpaceX is also waiting for their first ISS Docking with the Dragon Capsule on the C2 Mission. NASA is still reviewing the mission and schedule constraints. Tentative timlines show the flight in February of 2012, however NASA has to approve the flight for final planning to start. After Rendezvous with ISS, Dragon would not dock to ISS on its own. It will initiate stationkeeping to be grappled by the ISS Robotic Arm that will then attach it to the Harmony Module of the US Segment.
The most important visiting vehicle will be the Soyuz TMA-03M capsule bringing three crewmembers to ISS: Oleg Kononenko, Andre Kuipers and Don Pettit are expected to launch in December 2011 for a docking on December 23.
The ATV-3 Mission will launch during Expedition 30, but docking is set to occur three days after the Expedition ends with TMA-22 Undocking.
SpaceX is also waiting for their first ISS Docking with the Dragon Capsule on the C2 Mission. NASA is still reviewing the mission and schedule constraints. Tentative timlines show the flight in February of 2012, however NASA has to approve the flight for final planning to start. After Rendezvous with ISS, Dragon would not dock to ISS on its own. It will initiate stationkeeping to be grappled by the ISS Robotic Arm that will then attach it to the Harmony Module of the US Segment.
Science Overview
During
Expedition 30, science operations will be limited until the crew is restored to
six in December so that ISS Maintenance tasks can be completed. Maintenance operations have priority as the primary focus of the crew is to keep the ISS safely in orbit.
Science Operations that are controlled from Earth will continue as planned on Expedition 30. The MAXI Payload – Monitor of All-Sky X-Ray Image – will continue to make X-Ray Observations of the entire sky. The instrument will be finishing its stay on the station soon after being installed on Expedition 19/20 and monitoring over 1,000 X-Ray sources once every 96 minutes.
The AMS-2 – Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer – that was delivered on Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 is continuing to provide unprecedented data of Particles that are travelling through space and will continue to operate through Expedition 30. It is the largest and most advanced spectrometer in space and it is gathering information on dark matter, anti matter and cosmic rays.
The Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert – 05 Directional Plant Growth Experiment will also be continued on Expedition 30. This experiment involves thousands of students that are comparing plant growth in their class rooms to plant growth in microgravity aboard ISS. Also, data from the ISS Experiment Payload will be used to develop systems for long duration space missions by means of providing oxygen and food.
The European Space Agency will implement the DOSIS-3D Experiment (Dose Distribution Inside the International Space Station - 3D) that focuses on Radiation on ISS. A three dimensional map of radiation on all segemtns of the Station will be generated by various active and passive radiation sensors to gather data on radiation field parameters and exposure limits. Real Time Data Monitoring Systems are in place for this payload assembly.
As part of the US National Laboratory Program, NanoRacks (small experiment facilities for the ISS) will be used once again on Expedition 30. Investigations will include the use of commercial-off-the-shelf products and technologies in space, the behavior of 18S Ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid and the MC3T3 mouse bone cell line. Also part of the program are several student-based investigations.
BASS is another experiment that will be conducted during Expedition 30. Its full name is Burning and Suppression of Solids. Burning and extinction characteristics of various fuels will be evaluated as part of this study. These tests will provide data that will help develop strategies for extinguishing fires in microgravity and on long duration missions. Also, fire detection systems will be improved, both – on Earth and in Space. Crewmembers will document the burning process of the different fuels and several other properties connected to burning solids. The fires will be suppressed by Nitrogen Gas.
Many other long term ISS Research projects will continue on Expedition 30 including many human research experiments focussed on the effects of long duration flights on the human body. These tests include cardiovascular studies, studies of metabolism properties, etc. For that, the Astronauts will take regular tests (e.g. vision checks, electrocardiography) and give samples (Blood, Saliva, Urine) that will be returned to Earth for analysis.
Also, Projects like EarthKAM and AuroraMax as well as CEO (Crew Earth Observation) will be active for Exp 30.
Russian Studies will also continue during Expedition 30. These experiments include material science, biology, human research and chemistry.
Science Operations that are controlled from Earth will continue as planned on Expedition 30. The MAXI Payload – Monitor of All-Sky X-Ray Image – will continue to make X-Ray Observations of the entire sky. The instrument will be finishing its stay on the station soon after being installed on Expedition 19/20 and monitoring over 1,000 X-Ray sources once every 96 minutes.
The AMS-2 – Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer – that was delivered on Space Shuttle Mission STS-134 is continuing to provide unprecedented data of Particles that are travelling through space and will continue to operate through Expedition 30. It is the largest and most advanced spectrometer in space and it is gathering information on dark matter, anti matter and cosmic rays.
The Commercial Generic Bioprocessing Apparatus Science Insert – 05 Directional Plant Growth Experiment will also be continued on Expedition 30. This experiment involves thousands of students that are comparing plant growth in their class rooms to plant growth in microgravity aboard ISS. Also, data from the ISS Experiment Payload will be used to develop systems for long duration space missions by means of providing oxygen and food.
The European Space Agency will implement the DOSIS-3D Experiment (Dose Distribution Inside the International Space Station - 3D) that focuses on Radiation on ISS. A three dimensional map of radiation on all segemtns of the Station will be generated by various active and passive radiation sensors to gather data on radiation field parameters and exposure limits. Real Time Data Monitoring Systems are in place for this payload assembly.
As part of the US National Laboratory Program, NanoRacks (small experiment facilities for the ISS) will be used once again on Expedition 30. Investigations will include the use of commercial-off-the-shelf products and technologies in space, the behavior of 18S Ribosomal Ribonucleic Acid and the MC3T3 mouse bone cell line. Also part of the program are several student-based investigations.
BASS is another experiment that will be conducted during Expedition 30. Its full name is Burning and Suppression of Solids. Burning and extinction characteristics of various fuels will be evaluated as part of this study. These tests will provide data that will help develop strategies for extinguishing fires in microgravity and on long duration missions. Also, fire detection systems will be improved, both – on Earth and in Space. Crewmembers will document the burning process of the different fuels and several other properties connected to burning solids. The fires will be suppressed by Nitrogen Gas.
Many other long term ISS Research projects will continue on Expedition 30 including many human research experiments focussed on the effects of long duration flights on the human body. These tests include cardiovascular studies, studies of metabolism properties, etc. For that, the Astronauts will take regular tests (e.g. vision checks, electrocardiography) and give samples (Blood, Saliva, Urine) that will be returned to Earth for analysis.
Also, Projects like EarthKAM and AuroraMax as well as CEO (Crew Earth Observation) will be active for Exp 30.
Russian Studies will also continue during Expedition 30. These experiments include material science, biology, human research and chemistry.
Photo: NASA
