International Space Station Expedition 31 will be largely dedicated to ISS Utilization meaning lots of science activities for the crew of six Astronauts and Cosmonauts aboard the complex. Expedition 31 will also see a premier in space flight, the first Commercial Spacecraft to Rendezvous and be mated to the Space Station during the SpaceX-operated Dragon C2/3 Mission. Also, the crew aboard the orbiting outpost will be busy maintaining ISS Systems and equipment to keep the Spacecraft in perfect operating condition. Expedition 31 was shortened due to the Launch Delay of the Soyuz TMA-04M Spacecraft that was damaged during ground tests and had to be replaced. For details on the TMA-04M Mission, refer to the Mission Updates Site. Expedition 31 begins with the Undocking of Soyuz TMA-22 (Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanshin) on April 27 and starts out with a crew of three (Don Pettit, Andre Kuipers and Oleg Kononenko) until Soyuz TMA-04M docks to ISS (Gennady Padalka, Joseph Acaba and Sergei Revin) in May. Increment 31 is scheduled to end with the Undocking and Landing of Soyuz TMA-03M.
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The Crew Patch
The ISS Expedition 31 Crew Patch depicts thin crescents along the horizons of Earth and moon as well as the International Space Station. The shape of the patch represents the view of our Galaxy, the Milky Way. Dark Matter is symbolized by the black background. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer will continue Dark Matter Research aboard ISS during Increment 31. Earth, its moon, Mars, and asteroids, are on the patch to show the focus of current and future exploration. The larger stars represent the six crewmembers of Expedition 31 crew while the smaller stars symbolize visiting vehicles that will dock to ISS during Expedition 31. |
Patch: NASA
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The Crew
The Crew will be a crew of 3 Astronauts and 3 Cosmonauts with experienced Astronauts/Cosmonauts as well as Space Station Rookies. Please click the individual crew photos to go to the Crew Member's biography. |
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Expedition Timeline
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Photo: NASA/ESA
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Visiting Vehicles
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In terms of visiting vehicles, Expedition 31 will be relatively quiet as there is only one Mission scheduled to perform its flight to ISS. Visiting Vehicles that will remain docked to ISS through Increment 31 are Progress M-15M that docked to ISS on April 22, 2012 and Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 which docked on March 28. Both of these Vehicles will undock during Expedition 32. Over the course of Increment 31, periodic cargo operations will be worked by the crew to unload items delivered on these vehicles and place trash and discarded equipment inside the Cargo Compartment. In addition to that, M-15M and ATV-3 will be used to repressurize the Atmosphere of ISS with Oxygen from high-pressure Gas Tanks aboard the Vehicles and transfer propellants to the Station for use on ISS Propulsion. Automated Transfer Vehicle 3 will conduct several Space Station Reboosts during Expedition 31 and provide Debris Avoidance and Attitude Control Capabilities.
Image: SpaceX
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Photo: NASA
The focus on terms of visiting vehicles will be on SpaceX' Dragon Capsule that is set to make a test flight to the Space Station. Once being launched aboard the large Falcon 9 Rocket from Cape Canaveral, the Dragon Capsule has to complete several Objectives before being allowed to Rendezvous with the Space Station. After being delivered to Orbit by the Falcon 9 Booster, the Spacecraft will have to demonstrate a series of maneuvers early in the flight in order to be allowed to come close to the Space Station. These include GPS navigation tests, attitude control maneuvers, free drift demonstration and Rendezvous Abort Tests. Also on Flight Days 1 through 3, Dragon will refine its orbit to match that of the Space Station. For a launch on May 7, Dragon would perform an ISS Flyby on May 10. During the maneuver, communication and navigation systems systems will be tested. The Flyby will take Dragon as close as 2.5 Kilometers to the Station. After moving back to a safe distance, engineers will review data obtained during the Flyby to assess the Dragon’s Systems before allowing it to move into the Station’s vicinity as this is still a test flight.
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Should the vehicle be cleared for Rendezvous, Dragon would make its approach on May 11. During the Rendezvous Operation, Dragon will stop its approach at pre-determined hold points to complete more objectives and give mission controllers a chance to assess the status of the spacecraft. Once at the correct position, the crew aboard the station will grapple the Capsule with the Station’s Robotic Arm and place it in a pre-berthing position. After another assessment of the Dragon Capsule's performance, Mission Control will give a GO for berthing and the crew will work through standard procedures such as fist stage capture and second stage capture leading up to leak checks and hatch opening on Flight Day 5 of the Dragon Mission in order to start docked/cargo operations. The planned duration of the C2/3 mission is ~21 Days. 521 Kilograms of Cargo will be delivered to the Space Station on the C2/3 Mission. These items are mostly low-value items such as food, water, personal crew member equipment, clothes and every-day-life articles including hygiene supplies. The cargo will be important to keep the Space Station in a comfortable cargo configuration that can support a crew of 6 Astronauts for an extended amount of time. Also part of the cargo are NanoRacks Modules which are small low-cost experiment platforms that are used aboard the Space Station. After unloading all the items delivered on the Dragon Capsule, the Crew aboard ISS will load the spacecraft with items that will be returned to Earth. These include science experiments and samples that will undergo extensive analysis once back on Earth. The Dragon Capsule and the Soyuz Spacecraft are the only vehicles that are capable of returning ISS Cargo to Earth. About 660 Kilograms of cargo will be returned on Dragon C2/3. These items also include equipment that will be refurbished and used again on the Space Station such as Water System Components.
Full Coverage of ISS Visiting Vehicle Mission as well as extensive background information including Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft Data can be found in our Mission specific sections.
Progress M-15M: Click Here
Automated Transfer Vehicle 3: Click Here
Dragon C2/3: Click Here
Full Coverage of ISS Visiting Vehicle Mission as well as extensive background information including Launch Vehicle and Spacecraft Data can be found in our Mission specific sections.
Progress M-15M: Click Here
Automated Transfer Vehicle 3: Click Here
Dragon C2/3: Click Here
Science Overview
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The Crew aboard the ISS will be completing a variety of Experiments and long term studies. These part of several fields of science including biology, human research, material science, physics, chemistry and technology. ISS Science Payloads are controlled and operated by the crew working inside the modules or by the Mission Control Centers around the world including payload operation facilities.
Science Operations that are controlled from Earth will continue as planned on Expedition 31. 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 31. It is the largest and most advanced spectrometer in space and it is gathering information on dark matter, anti matter and cosmic rays. Notable studies that are active during Expedition 31 (among others): The USOS Crew (Pettit, Kuipers, Acaba) will be subject to several human research studies. One of those is the Reaction Self Test that is performed several times a week and includes a session in the morning and one just before going to bed. The RST consists of a 5-minute session using a laptop application. The Study evaluates the effects fatigue has on Crew Members aboard ISS in order to create better solutions for sleep cycle shifting during Mission-Critical Periods. Also, USOS Crewmembers will participate in the European Space Agency Studies VO2max and Integrated Cardiovascular that examine the effects long-duration spaceflight has on different functions of the human body. ESA is also operating the Pro-K study that involves a crew member sticking to a high or low salt diet over a several day period and log their diet, take blood and urine samles and analyses and store those samples. In addition to that, the USOS Crewmembers will service several payloads that are used for ground controlled science operations. Robonaut operations will also continue during Increment 31. Activities will include more checkouts involving functional tests and basic experiment activity to gradually improve knowledge of Robonaut Handling and capabilities before the robotic crew member starts periodic operations to support basic International Space Station Servicing tasks. BASS is another experiment that will be conducted during Expedition 31. 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 31 including many human research experiments focused 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 31. Russian Studies will also continue during Expedition 31. These experiments include material science, biology, human research, earth observation and chemistry. One major activity that will be performed by the Russian Crew Members is the KPT-2 Study. Using the BAR Experiment Suite, several properties such as environmental data, vibrations, surface temperature and ultrasound frequencies are measured throughout the Russian Segment of the Space Station. This is done to identify any problem areas present aboard the complex in order to extend Space Station on-orbit lifetime. |
Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
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Photo: NASA
Photo: NASA
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Spacewalks
No Spacewalks are planned for Expedition 31.
The crew aboard the International Space Station underwent extensive training for numerous spacewalk scenarios to prepare for any failure that could require an EVA by the crew. Each crew member is trained for a series of problems that could emerge during their stay aboard the station. Also, the EMUs (Spacesuits) that are in storage inside the Airlock, are being maintained by the crew to keep them in operating condition and ready for an unplanned EVA - even on very short notice. On the Russian side, there are no planned EVAs either. |
