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This paper describes an evolutionary method of technology integration for the development of a Lunar base life support system. The baseline is a partially-closed Regenerative Life Support System (RLSS) based upon Space Station Freedom physicochemical technology. The paper describes the stepwise evolution of this baseline system into a closed-loop, Lunar base Controlled Ecological Life Support System (LCELSS), a hybrid design which incorporates both physicochemical and bioregenerative technologies. The steps taken in the evolutionary process are derived from a rationale which addresses: 1) the incorporation of specific bioregenerative functions into the life support system, 2) the supplementation of specific physicochemical functions with bioregenerative systems, 3) the replacement of initial physicochemical technologies with more advanced technologies, and 4) the addition of new physicochemical technologies.

Future manned habitats for a Lunar outpost or Martian base will require increased levels of self-sufficiency over Space Station Freedom to reduce the high costs and complexities of resupplying expendables, such as food for the crew. By growing food at these remote sites, not only will self-sufficiency be greatly increased, but significant benefits for crew life support will also be realized. Higher plants, such as those grown typically for food, are capable of consuming carbon dioxide (CO2), producing oxygen (O2), and reclaiming water (H2O) via transpiration. At NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, the Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed project will use higher plants grown in a closed, controlled environment in conjunction with physicochemically-based life support systems to create an integrated biological/physicochemical RLSS.