ISS expedition 31

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Mission emblem
ISS Expedition 31 Patch.png
Mission dates
Mission: ISS expedition 31
Crew: 6th
Rescue ships: Soyuz TMA-03M , Soyuz TMA-04M
Space station: International space station
Start: April 27, 2012, 08:15 UTC
Started by: Decoupling from Soyuz TMA-22
The End: July 1, 2012, 04:47 UTC
Ended by: Decoupling from Soyuz TMA-03M
Duration: 64d 20h 32min
Number of EVAs : -
Team photo
v. l. To the right: Joseph Acaba, Gennadi Padalka, Sergei Rewin, André Kuipers, Oleg Kononenko and Donald Pettit
v. l. To the right: Joseph Acaba, Gennadi Padalka, Sergei Rewin, André Kuipers, Oleg Kononenko and Donald Pettit
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ISS Expedition 32

ISS-Expedition 31 is the mission name for the 31st long-term crew of the International Space Station (ISS). The mission began with the decoupling of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft from the ISS on April 27, 2012 at 8:15 UTC . The end was marked by the decoupling of Soyuz TMA-03M on July 1, 2012 at 4:47 UTC.

team

additionally from May 17, 2012

Substitute team

Since Expedition 20, no official replacement team has been announced due to the permanent training for the six-person crew. Unofficially, the backup crews of the two Soyuz feeder spaceships TMA-03M and TMA-04M (see there) are used as backup crews for Expedition 31. As a rule, these crews are deployed two missions later.

Mission description

After the command capsule of the Soyuz TMA-22 spacecraft returned to Earth, the three-person crew of the International Space Station at that time occupied themselves primarily with routine work, maintenance tasks and biomedical research. The reinforcement to the ISS started on May 15 and docked two days later.

The research program included a total of 200 studies that were in various stages of realization. Some of the experiments are installed outboard and run fully automatically or require no supervision. Various material samples are exposed to the conditions of space and only recovered and transported back to Earth after months. Other measurement complexes automatically collect data and transmit them to ground stations at the scheduled times. Inside there are also a number of automatically running experiments that only need to be supervised for maintenance purposes or to change samples.

The extensive program included studies in the fields of medicine , biology , physics , materials science , astronomy / cosmology , technology and a whole series of experiments with educational character . The Night Pod Nodding Mechanism (ESA) made it possible to easily track a camera by means of a coordinated nodding movement, even with low-light targets on the night side of the earth, so that sharp photos are created. The camera was temporarily installed in Cupola and can be used by pupils and students. A similar goal is being pursued with the EarthKAM and ISS Agricultural Camera projects in Destiny (NASA). In the latter, mainly areas used for agriculture and forestry are targeted and the images obtained are included in the lessons.

In the 2D-NanoTemplate (JAXA) experiment , two-dimensional templates in the nanometer range were produced, which become particularly regular without buoyancy, convection and sedimentation and can be used in medical research on Earth. Research subjects are, for example, compound semiconductors (alloy semiconductor), human biorhythms , the detection of genetic changes due to radiation and other conditions in space (hair) or the long-term recording of X-ray sources in space (MAXI) .

With IServ (NASA) and Visir (Roskosmos) two automatic systems are used or tested, which have their own orientation system and thus automatically create pictures of previously specified destinations when flying over. The lighting conditions and different focal lengths are also taken into account and the recording technology is adjusted accordingly.

As part of the Nanorack project, different payloads were tested under space conditions. The aim here was to carry out research projects from industry quickly and cheaply. Tissue or material samples are stored, everyday devices are tested for their suitability for use in space vehicles or educational projects are implemented. The nanoracks reached the ISS with the first Dragon capsule, which the station successfully headed for in May as part of a test mission. Unfortunately, it was neglected to activate the experiments, so that they returned to earth practically unused.

The first Dragon capsule on the ISS

On May 22, 2012, the aforementioned private spaceship Dragon took off as part of the C2 + demonstration to the ISS. After a series of tests and maneuvers, the Dragon spaceship came within ten meters of the ISS on the fourth day of the mission. It was then with the Canadarm2 manipulator arm caught the space station and to the free Nadir - coupling site American US of the Harmony module out. This process was controlled by the astronauts Donald Pettit and André Kuipers from Cupola.

The spacecraft transported 460 kg of cargo (520 kg with transport packaging) to the ISS and was loaded with over 600 kg of waste and equipment that was no longer required for the return flight. On 31 May 2012, the Dragon spacecraft was separated from the space station again, after re-entry into the Earth's atmosphere took place at 15:42 UTC, the splashdown of the return capsule off the coast of Baja California .

Image of the transit of Venus on June 5, 2012

Venus transit and mission completion

On June 5th, pictures of the transit of Venus were taken from board the ISS . During a transit, an inner planet passes between the earth and the sun, so that part of the sun's surface is covered when viewed from the earth. Studies of the planet's atmosphere can also be carried out. Such a transit is a relatively rare astronomical event.

After further research, the 31st ISS expedition ended with decoupling and landing from Soyuz TMA-03M with Oleg Kononjenko, Don Pettit and Andre Kuipers on July 1, 2012.

See also

Web links

Commons : ISS Expedition 31  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pete Harding: Soyuz TMA-22 returns to Earth with three outbound ISS crewmembers. NASAspaceflight.com, April 27, 2007, accessed April 27, 2007 .
  2. ^ Expedition 31st NASA, accessed on April 6, 2012 (English).
  3. ↑ COTS-2 Mission Press Kit. (PDF; 6.7 MB) (No longer available online.) SpaceX, archived from the original on July 17, 2012 ; accessed on July 1, 2012 .