| ISS Expedition 42 | |
| Insignia: | ISS Expedition 42 Patch.svg |
| Insignia Caption: | Expedition 42 mission patch |
| Mission Type: | ISS Expedition |
| Crew Size: | 6 |
| Crew Members: | Expedition 41/42: Barry E. Wilmore Aleksandr Samokutyayev Yelena Serova Expedition 42/43: Anton Shkaplerov Samantha Cristoforetti Terry W. Virts |
| Crew Photo: | Expedition 42 crew portrait.jpg |
| Crew Photo Caption: | (l-r) Serova, Wilmore, Samokutyayev, Shkaplerov, Virts and Cristoforetti |
| Space Station: | International Space Station |
| Start Date: | UTC |
| End Date: | UTC |
| Departure Craft: | Soyuz TMA-14M Soyuz TMA-15M |
| Previous Mission: | Expedition 41 |
| Next Mission: | Expedition 43 |
| Programme: | ISS expeditions |
Expedition 42 was the 42nd expedition to the International Space Station. It began on 10 November 2014 with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-13M, returning the crew of Expedition 41 to Earth and ended with the undocking of Soyuz TMA-14M on 11 March 2015.[1]
| Position | First Part (November 2014) | Second Part (November 2014 to March 2015) |
|---|---|---|
| Commander | Barry E. Wilmore, NASA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 1 | Aleksandr Samokutyayev, RSA Second and last spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 2 | Yelena Serova, RSA Only spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 3 | Anton Shkaplerov, RSA Second spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 4 | Samantha Cristoforetti, ASI-ESA First spaceflight | |
| Flight Engineer 5 | Terry W. Virts, NASA Second and last spaceflight | |
One of the key aspects of Mission 42 - and other missions in 2015 - is the preparation (that is, reconfiguration) of parts of the ISS to allow commercial space taxis to dock at the station. The mission requires several space walks in 2015 to prepare a berthing slip is being prepared at the forward end of the Harmony connecting node where Space Shuttles formerly docked, and another on Harmonys zenith port. These new ports will allow for the Boeing's CST-100 and SpaceX's Dragon capsules to dock at the ISS. The first paid passengers are expected to arrive in 2019.[3]