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A 48-hour manned closed environment test was carried out using the closure environmental adaptation training facility (isolation chamber) at Tsukuba Space Center of NASDA (National Space Development Agency of Japan), in Tsukuba-shi, Ibaraki, Japan. This 48-hour closed test was planned and conducted as a preliminary testing for future manned closed tests of advanced life support systems. The purposes of the test were to obtain basic data related to design requirements of regenerative life support systems, which include environmental data of air, water, waste water, and microorganisms inside the chamber, and data on human mass balance and human consumables during the test. Additionally perform integrated evaluation tests on functions and performance of Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) subsystem research models which have been fabricated and evaluated so far in independent separate tests.

The photocatalytic oxidation of trace contaminants such as human metabolite gas and outgas from the component materials over a UV-illuminated film of titanium dioxide (TiO2) has been studied to apply for an environmental purification in manned spacecraft. The trace contaminants studied were as follows: methanol, ethanol, acetal-dehyde, toluene, acetone, methane, ethylene, ammonia, 1,4-pentadiene, hydrogen sulfide, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide. Most of these compounds are the representative human metabolic gas. It was found that these compounds except for methane, ethylene, carbonyl sulfide, hydrogen and carbon monoxide are sufficiently removed in the photocatalytic reactor. This report describes the result of the removal test using the photocatalysts performed in National Space Development Agency of Japan/Tsukuba Space Center (NASDA / TKSC).