View source for Astronomy:Expedition 31

{{Short description|Long-duration mission to the International Space Station}}
{{Infobox spaceflight
| name                  = ISS Expedition 31
| image                 = Expedition 31 TRANSPORTERS crew poster.jpg
| image_caption         = Promotional Poster 
| insignia              = ISS Expedition 31 Patch.png
| insignia_caption      = Expedition 31 mission patch

| mission_type          = ISS Expedition
| mission_duration      =
| orbits_completed      =

| crew_size             = 6
| crew_members          = '''Expedition 30/31''':<br/>Oleg Kononenko<br/>André Kuipers<br/>Don Pettit<br/><br/>'''Expedition 31/32''':<br/>Joseph M. Acaba<br/>Gennady Padalka<br/>[[Biography:Sergei Revin|Sergei Revin]]

| crew_EVAs             = 
| crew_EVA_duration     = 
| crew_photo            = Expedition 31 crew portrait.jpg
| crew_photo_caption    = (l-r) Acaba, Padalka, Revin, Kuipers, Kononenko and Pettit

| space_station         = [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]]
| start_date            = {{start date text|27 April 2012, 08:15|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name=StartApr27>[http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/04/soyuz-tma-22-earth-three-outbound-iss-crewmembers "Soyuz TMA-22 returns to Earth with three outbound ISS crewmembers"]. NASASpaceflight.com, 27 April 2012.</ref>
| end_date              = {{end date text|1 July 2012, 04:48|timezone=yes}}&nbsp;UTC<ref name=Pete>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/07/soyuz-tma-03m-undocks-iss-return/|title=Soyuz TMA-03M undocks from ISS and returns to Earth|last=Harding|first=Pete|date=1 July 2012|publisher=NASASpaceFlight (not associated with NASA)|access-date=3 July 2012}}</ref>
| arrival_craft         = [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-03M|Soyuz TMA-03M]]<br/>[[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-04M|Soyuz TMA-04M]]  
| departure_craft       = [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-03M|Soyuz TMA-03M]]<br/>[[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-04M|Soyuz TMA-04M]]

| previous_mission      = [[Astronomy:Expedition 30|Expedition 30]]
| next_mission          = [[Astronomy:Expedition 32|Expedition 32]]
| programme             = [[Astronomy:International Space Station|ISS]] [[Astronomy:List of International Space Station expeditions|expeditions]]
}}
'''Expedition 31''' was the 31st long-duration [[Astronomy:List of International Space Station expeditions|expedition]] to the [[Astronomy:International Space Station|International Space Station]] (ISS). It began on 27 April 2012 with the departure from the ISS of the [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-22|Soyuz TMA-22]] spacecraft, which returned the [[Astronomy:Expedition 30|Expedition 30]] crew to Earth.<ref name=StartApr27/> The expedition ended on 1 July 2012, when crew members Oleg Kononenko, André Kuipers and Don Pettit departed from the ISS aboard [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-03M|Soyuz TMA-03M]], marking the beginning of [[Astronomy:Expedition 32|Expedition 32]].<ref name=Pete/>

==Crew==
{| class="wikitable"
|-
!Position
!First part<br /><small>(April 2012 to May 2012)</small>
!Second part<br /><small>(May 2012 to July 2012)</small>
|-
!Commander
|colspan=2 align=center|{{Flagicon|RUS}} Oleg Kononenko, RSA<br />Second spaceflight
|-
!Flight Engineer 1
|colspan=2 align=center|{{Flagicon|Netherlands}} André Kuipers, [[Organization:European Space Agency|ESA]]<br />Second spaceflight
|-
!Flight Engineer 2
|colspan=2 align=center|{{Flagicon|USA}} Don Pettit, [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]<br />Third spaceflight
|-
!Flight Engineer 3
|
|colspan=1 align=center|{{Flagicon|USA}} Joseph M. Acaba, [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]<br />Second spaceflight
|-
!Flight Engineer 4
|
|colspan=1 align=center|{{Flagicon|RUS}} Gennady Padalka, RSA<br />Fourth spaceflight
|-
!Flight Engineer 5
|
|colspan=1 align=center|{{Flagicon|RUS}} [[Biography:Sergei Revin|Sergei Revin]], RSA<br />Only spaceflight
|-
|}

;Source: NASA<ref name="crew1">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/oct/HQ_09-233_Space_Station_Crews.html|title= NASA and its International Partners Assign Space Station Crews |access-date=7 October 2009|publisher=NASA|year=2009|author=NASA HQ}}</ref><ref name="crew2">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/jul/HQ_10-161_New_ISS_Crews.html|title=NASA And Partners Assign Crews For Upcoming Space Station Missions |access-date=8 July 2010|publisher=NASA|year=2010|author=NASA HQ}}</ref><ref name="Kuipers_2011">[http://www.esa.int/esaCP/SEMDZZUHYXF_index_0.html ESA astronaut André Kuipers to spend six months on the ISS starting in 2011]</ref><ref name="change">{{Cite web|url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition31/index.html|title=Expedition 31 crew page|access-date=18 November 2011|publisher=NASA}}</ref>

==Mission highlights==

===Soyuz TMA-22 departure===
Expedition 31 formally began on 27 April 2012, with the departure from the ISS of the [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-22|Soyuz TMA-22]] spacecraft. Soyuz TMA-22 successfully returned [[Astronomy:Expedition 30|Expedition 30]] astronauts Dan Burbank, Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoli Ivanishin to Earth.<ref name=StartApr27/> The ISS was left under the command of astronauts Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit, who had arrived at the station aboard [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-03M|Soyuz TMA-03M]] on 23 December 2011.

===Soyuz TMA-04M arrival===
The final three members of Expedition 31 &ndash; Acaba, Padalka and Revin &ndash; arrived at the ISS aboard [[Engineering:Soyuz TMA-04M|Soyuz TMA-04M]], which launched on 15 May 2012,<ref name=NasaNews>{{cite web |access-date=2012-05-14 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/living/index.html|title=Three New Crew Members En Route to Station  | work=Latest News|publisher=NASA}}</ref> and docked to the ISS on 17 May at 4:36 [[Physics:Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Harwood|first=William|title=Three-man crew docks at International Space Station|url=http://www.spaceflightnow.com/station/exp31/120517dock/|access-date=17 May 2012|newspaper=Spaceflight Now|date=17 May 2012}}</ref>

===SpaceX Dragon test mission===
[[Company:SpaceX|SpaceX]]'s unmanned Dragon spacecraft conducted a test rendezvous with the ISS during Expedition 31, as part of [[Organization:NASA|NASA]]'s [[Astronomy:Commercial Orbital Transportation Services|Commercial Orbital Transportation Services]] program; it was the first commercial spacecraft to rendezvous with the ISS. Following a series of delays,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/05/19/falcon_launch_aborted/|title=SpaceX Dragon chokes at the last second|work=The Register|date=19 May 2012|access-date=21 May 2012}}</ref> Dragon launched on 22 May 2012, and berthed successfully with the ISS on 25 May, after conducting a series of orbital test manoeuvres.<ref name=DragonLaunch>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/15805-spacex-private-capsule-launches-space-station.html|title=SpaceX Launches Private Capsule on Historic Trip to Space Station|publisher=Space.com|date=22 May 2012|author=Clara Moskowitz|access-date=8 April 2023}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18195772|title=Station grabs SpaceX Dragon ship|publisher=BBC|date=25 May 2012}}</ref> Dragon carried around {{convert|460|kg|lb}} of cargo to the ISS, including food, clothing, a laptop computer and 15 student experiments.<ref name=DragonLaunch/> After being loaded with {{convert|660|kg|lb}} of downmass cargo, including completed experiments and redundant equipment, it undocked from the station and returned to Earth on 31 May 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://businesstech.co.za/news/general/13755/spacex-dragon-capsule-opens-new-era/|title=SpaceX Dragon Capsule opens new era|agency={{wipe|Reuters}} via BusinessTech.co.za|date=28 May 2012}}</ref><ref name=Accomplished>{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-18273811|title=Splashdown for SpaceX Dragon spacecraft|publisher=BBC|date=31 May 2012}}</ref> Dragon landed intact in the [[Earth:Pacific Ocean|Pacific Ocean]] and was successfully recovered, allowing SpaceX to begin [[Engineering:SpaceX Dragon#List of COTS/CRS missions|regular cargo flights]] to the ISS.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/01/science/space/first-spacex-dragon-cargo-flight-ends-with-a-splash.html|title=Its First Mission Done, SpaceX Looks to More Private Flights|work={{wipe|The New York Times}}|date=31 May 2012|access-date=5 June 2012}}</ref> The first such logistics mission, CRS SpX-1, launched successfully in October 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/08/spacex-conduct-successful-wdr-falcon-9/|title=SpaceX conduct successful WDR on their latest Falcon 9|last=Bergin|first=Chris|date=31 August 2012|publisher=NASASpaceFlight.com|access-date=15 September 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.space.com/17943-spacex-dragon-capsule-space-cargo-launch.html|title=Liftoff! SpaceX Dragon Launches 1st Private Space Station Cargo Mission|publisher=Space.com|date=8 October 2012}}</ref>

===Soyuz TMA-03M departure===
Soyuz TMA-03M departed from the ISS on 1 July 2012, successfully returning Kononenko, Kuipers and Pettit to Earth. Their departure marked the formal end of Expedition 31, and the beginning of [[Astronomy:Expedition 32|Expedition 32]].<ref name=Pete/>

==In popular culture==
In the 2012 ''The Big Bang Theory'' episode "The Friendship Contraction", character Howard Wolowitz revealed that he would be a member of a fictionalized Expedition 31.<ref>{{cite episode|title=The Friendship Contraction|episode-link=The Big Bang Theory (season 5)#ep102|series=The Big Bang Theory|series-link=The Big Bang Theory|airdate=2 February 2012|season=5|number=15|minutes=02:20}}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery class="center" perrow="5">
File:Soyuz TMA-22 departs from the ISS.jpg|Soyuz TMA-22 departs the ISS on 27 April 2012, marking the beginning of Expedition 31.
File:Expedition 31 Orthodox blessing.jpg|An [[Religion:Russian Orthodox Church|Orthodox]] priest blesses the Soyuz rocket on 14 May 2012.
File:Expedition 31 crew wave goodbye.jpg|The Expedition 31 crew wave goodbye before the launch on 15 May 2012.
File:Expedition 31 launch.jpg|The launch of Soyuz TMA-04M on 15 May 2012.
File:COTS2Dragon.2..jpg|SpaceX's unmanned Dragon spacecraft approaches the ISS on 25 May 2012.
File:ISS crew inside Dragon C2.jpg|Expedition 31 posing inside the docked Dragon capsule on 29 May 2012.
</gallery>

==References==
{{Include-NASA}}
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/index.html NASA's Space Station Expeditions page]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbLHgGbzTZI& End of Expedition 30/Beginning of Expedition 31 video]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJcV_kWIR2A& Expedition 30/31 – Change of Command Ceremony video]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66QFmmkct7k& End of Expedition 31/Beginning of Expedition 32 video]
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRwSH_u0Ll0 Expedition 31/32 – Change of Command Ceremony video]
*[http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-31/ndxpage1.html Expedition 31 Photography] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120703061847/http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/gallery/images/station/crew-31/ndxpage1.html |date=3 July 2012 }}

{{ISS expeditions}}


[[Category:Expeditions to the International Space Station]]

{{Sourceattribution|Expedition 31}}