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The maintenance of the cabin atmosphere aboard spacecraft is critical not only to its habitability but also to its function. Ideally, air quality can be maintained by striking a proper balance between the generation and removal of contaminants. ...Typically, maintaining a clean cabin environment on board crewed spacecraft and space habitats is a central function of the environmental control and life support (ECLS) system.

The baseline environmental control and life support (ECLS) systems currently deployed on board the International Space Station (ISS) and that planned to be launched in Node 3 are based upon technologies selected in the early 1990's. While they are generally meeting or exceeding requirements for supporting the ISS crew, lessons learned from years of on orbit and ground testing, together with new advances in technology state of the art, and the unique requirements for future manned missions prompt consideration of the next logical step to enhance these systems to increase performance, robustness, and reliability, and reduce on-orbit and logistical resource requirements. This paper discusses the current state of the art in ISS ECLS system technologies, and identifies possible areas for enhancement and improvement.