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Nowadays, space crafts such as a space shuttle take the O2 gas for crew respiration from the earth. However, for long periods of stay in space and far missions such as to the moon, it is not possible to carry sufficient amounts of oxygen. Therefore, there is need to establish other methods of supplying the extra O2 required by the crew under such circumstances. The CO2 reduction system is one method to generate O2 in space.

Improvement of an air revitalization technology is one of the key elements for ECLSS (Environment Control and Life Support System) in development and operation of human space systems. The paper summarizes, as a validation of off-gases “removal” technique, the actual 24hr-continuous operation testing under closed environment. The analysis focuses on the removal characteristics with low CO2 (Carbon Dioxide) concentration. A preliminary closed-loop test of CO2 “reduction” technique was conducted as well. The evaluation includes the data acquisition and analysis of CO2 Reduction Processor which employ Sabatier-reaction and air-cooling. And finally the paper addresses the key issues to further improve this air revitalization system.

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.