Atmosphere Revitalization Technology Development for Crewed Space Exploration

As space exploration objectives extend human presence beyond low Earth orbit, the solutions to technological challenges presented by supporting human life in the hostile space environment must build upon experience gained during past and present crewed space exploration programs. These programs and the cabin atmosphere revitalization process technologies and systems developed for them represent the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) past and present operational knowledge base for maintaining a safe, comfortable environment for the crew. The contributions of these programs to the NASA’s technological and operational working knowledge base as well as key strengths and weaknesses to be overcome are discussed. Areas for technological development to address challenges inherent with the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) are presented and a plan for their development employing unit operations principles is summarized. I. Introduction VER the course of the United States’ space exploration program, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has developed and operated a variety of environmental control and life support (ECLS) systems to achieve a range of space exploration objectives. Beginning with Project Mercury and continuing through the International Space Station (ISS) program, the technological solutions to safely support human life in the hostile space environment have evolved from those required to support a single astronaut for minutes or hours to those supporting for crews of three or more for months and ultimately years. The Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) presents new challenges and performance standards that build on and extend the NASA’s experience and working knowledge of ECLS systems. Objectives specified by the VSE are the following: 1