Life Support for Long-Duration
Interplanetary Spacecraft:
Contributors: Sarah Atkinson, Mary Williamnson, Jacob Hollister,
Jorge Santana, Olga Rodionova, Erin Mastenbrook, Dave Hyland
Megan Heard
Dept. of Aerospace Engineering
Texas A&M University
2
Mission Statement
“To expand the domain of humanity beyond the earth for the
betterment, preservation, and advancement of all humankind by
creating a self-sustaining, mobile habitat that ensures the physical and
psychological well-being of its inhabitants.”
 >24 Month Trip Time
 12 Crew Members
 Capable of Interplanetary Space Travel
Cool Screenshot of station
in space here
3
Mission Statement
“To expand the domain of humanity beyond the earth for the
betterment, preservation, and advancement of all humankind by
creating a self-sustaining, mobile habitat that ensures the physical and
psychological well-being of its inhabitants.”
 >24 Month Trip Time
 12 Crew Members
 Capable of Interplanetary Space Travel
Cool Screenshot of station
in space here
4
System Overview – Life Support
Goal:
Create an environment conducive to healthy human functions
with no re-supply for duration of mission
Components:
 Atmospheric Control
 Oxygen production/re-processing
 Carbon Dioxide management
 Nutrition
 Diet determination and provision of food
 Water management
 Waste management
 Processing and recycling of liquid and solid waste
5
Life Support
Over the course of 2 years, 12 people would consume:
 7,360 kg oxygen
 18,700 kg food
 26,300 kg water
Recycling is essential for any long term independent space
habitation
6
Atmospheric Control
7
Atmospheric Control
The Oxygen Generation System (OGS) on the International Space
Station uses electrolysis to split water into hydrogen and oxygen
The Carbon Dioxide Removal System (CDRS) uses zeolite to filter
carbon dioxide out of the air
 Zeolite is a synthetic rock which captures CO2 but allows oxygen
and nitrogen to pass through
The hydrogen and carbon dioxide produced by these systems are
vented overboard as waste
8
Atmospheric Control
This system requires about .95 kg of water and produces about 1.3
kg of waste per person per day
To provide for 12 people for 2 years, 8290 kg of water would be used
and 11,000 kg of waste would be produced
Disposing of waste in this manner is an unsustainable process and
limits the duration of space missions
9
Atmospheric Control
 Photosynthetic algae will be used
for O2 production and CO2
elimination
 8 m2 of algae can consume
enough carbon dioxide and
produce enough oxygen for a
single person
 144 m2 of algae can provide O2
for a crew of 12 with a safety
factor of 1.5
10
Atmospheric Control
 Tanks only need to be 5 cm
deep, yielding a volume
requirement of 7.2 cubic meters
• Total algae system mass is
estimated at 7450 kg
• The total power requirement is
100 kW for both lighting and tank
stirring
• Mechanical filtration will be used
to remove other impurities from
the air
11
Atmospheric Control
 The algae grown will be
arthrospira platensis
(Spirolina)
 Supplement crew member’s
diets
 57% protein by mass and high
in numerous essential
vitamins and minerals
12
Atmospheric Control: Secondary
• Two OGS (Oxygen Generation System) will be available as a back
up in the event of algal disease or death in over 1/3 of the tanks
• Water from the affected tanks will be filtered and then used by the
OGS
• Water from 1/3 of the tanks can produce oxygen for a crew of 12
for 214 days
• CO2 scrubbers will be used to manage carbon dioxide levels
• H2 and CO2 produced will be stored in pressurized tanks and
recycled back into the system once the algae tanks have
recovered
13
Atmospheric Control
Break-Even Analysis
10000
Water Required (kg)
9000
8000
7000
6000
5000
OGS
4000
Algae
Break-Even Point
3000
2000
1000
0
0
5
10
15
20
Mission Duration (months)
25
30
14
Nutrition
15
Nutrition
Crew diet is modeled after that of the Greek island Ikaria
Reasons:
• Longevity of the Ikarians (large number of centenarians)
• Mediterranean diet is rich in vegetables and herbs
• Wine is high in antioxidants and reduces risk of heart
disease
• Olive Oil reduces low-density lipoprotein (“bad
cholesterol”)
• Potatoes contribute heart healthy Potassium, Vitamin
B6, and Fiber
16
Nutrition
 The crew’s diet will be sourced from a combination of
stored food and on-board agriculture
 Produce not immediately consumed will be frozen for
later use
17
Nutrition
Minimum requirements to sustain 12 people for 2 years






Grain: 4355 kg
Legumes: 653 kg (grown)
Sugar or Honey: 653 kg
Powdered Milk: 174 kg
Olive Oil: 210 kg
Salt: 44 kg
Total Storage: 8174 kg and
13 cubic meters
Additional Stored Food




Fish: 245 kg
Meat: 363 kg
Dried Fruits: 65 kg
Wine: 2014 kg equal to 7.4 barrels
The addition of fresh produce
from agriculture allows this
amount of stored food to
sustain the crew for upwards
of 3 years
18
NUTRITION
 Aeroponics will be used for all
agriculture
 Reduces water usage by 98
percent, fertilizer usage by 60
percent compared to traditional
crops
 Up to six crop cycles per year,
instead of the traditional one to
two crop cycles.
19
Agriculture
Tower Gardens®
 20 towers each supporting 28 plants
 Each tower has a height of 1.83 m with a 0.58 m 2 footprint
 Total footprint of 11.8 m 2 for all 20 towers
 76 L of water required per tower
 1514 L of water needed for all 20 towers
 Growth time: 3 weeks for most plants
to begin yielding
20
Agriculture
Tower Garden
 Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs included:
 Chamomile, cilantro, chives, celery, cumin, dill, Echinacea,
parsley, basil, oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, flax, lavender,
fennel, lemon grass, mint
 Arugula, beans (lima, bush, pole, shell, fava, green),
garbanzo beans, broccoli, cauliflower, collards, kale, leeks,
melons, okra, peas, tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers (red,
green, yellow, Chile, jalapenos), strawberries, lettuce,
spinach, Brussels sprouts, squash, eggplant, cabbage
Potatoes
 6.69 sq. m.
 Yields 8.17 kg per day
 Grown on aeroponic shelves instead of
tower gardens
21
Agriculture
• NASA and Orbital Technologies
developed High-Efficiency Lighting
With Integrated`Adaptive Control
(HELIAC) system
Power requirements for HELIAC system:
72kW for the entirety of our agriculture
• NASA study finds 80%
red, 20% blue LED ratio
most efficient for plant
growth
22
Gravity & Radiation Requirements
 The maximum dose of radiation allowed for terrestrial flora is about
0.01 Sv/day.
 No adverse effects are caused
 Maintains population level
 Much higher tolerance than that of humans
 Low-gravity conditions are beneficial to plant growth
 Positive gravity allows for correct plant orientation
 Ease of watering and maintenance
 Faster growth rates
23
Waste Management
24
Waste Management
 In order to be
sustainable, all
nutrients must be
recycled into the
system
 Wastewater must be
filtered to provide
usable drinking water,
and solid waste must
be composted to
provide nutrients for
agriculture and algae
25
Waste Management
 Diluted urine is an effective crop fertilizer
 Unlike feces, urine is effectively sterile when it leaves
the body and does not require composting
 A no mix toilet will be used to prevent feces from
contaminating the urine
 Urine and solid waste will be
processed separately
26
Waste Management
 Some urine will be used in fertilizer and the rest will be sent to
wastewater filtration to recover drinking water
 The brine leftover from filtration will be used to accelerate the
compost of solid waste
 Non edible portions of plants, leftover food, and any
biodegradable trash will be composted
27
Waste Management
 Hyperthermophilic bacteria will be used to
compost solid waste into fertilizer
 High temperature greatly reduces processing
time, helps degrade harder proteins, and kills
viruses and bacteria pathogenic to humans
28
Waste Management
 Heaters will be used to ensure the compost
maintains a constant temperature of 80˚ C
 A rotating fin agitates the compost to enable
aerobic decomposition
 A condenser attached to the air exhaust
returns water to the compost to maintain
water content
 A single .01 m3 fermentation vessel can
process roughly 3 kg of waste in about a
week
 10 of these systems will be used for all waste
processing
29
Water Management
 Utilize ECLSS Water Recycling System from the ISS (95% efficient)
 Able to recycle waste water from
 Urine
 Oral hygiene and hand-washing
 Condensing humidity from the air due to agriculture and humans
 Steps:
 Filter removes particles/debris
 Water passes through filters for organic/inorganic impurities
 Catalytic oxidation reactor removes volatile compounds/kills
bacteria and viruses
30
Water Budgets
Purpose
Water mass (kg)
Human Consumption
5100
Algae
7920
Agriculture
1700
Total:
14,720
Note: This does not include requirements for
water ballast
31
Life Support Pods
 2 pods with 3 floors each
 Each floor is 2.67 m in height
 55.4 m2 per floor
 Algae (2 floors+shelves) – 144 m2
 Agriculture (1 floor+shelf) – 30 m2 + Tower Gardens
 Freezer, food, and general storage (2 floors) – ~ 500 m3
32
Agriculture Pod
LED’s –
80% Red
20% Blue
Storage
Agriculture
Freezer
33
Life Support Pod
Storage
Algae
34
Life Support Pod (cont.)
Walking space
(main floor)
Algae
Shelves
35
PRACTICALITY ANALYSIS
Break Even Points for Regenerative Systems
System
Months to Break Even
Agriculture
21
Photosynthetic Algae
23
Water Recovery
0.5
36
Summary of Life Support
Sub-system
Power (kW)
Mass (kg)
Volume (m3)
Agriculture
72
2000
30
Algae
100
8170
7.2
OGS
0.016
1360
14
ECLSS
4.42
1782
1.5
Water
4.42
14720
14.5
Food Storage
.2
8123
13
Waste Management
4
200
4
185.1
36,360
84.2
Total
37
Questions?