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The ability to use local resources to “live off the land”, commonly referred to as In-Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU), is essential in establishing a long-term human presence and enabling the commercial development of space. The chief benefits of ISRU are that it can reduce the mass, cost, and risk of robotic and human exploration while providing capabilities that enable the commercial development of space. A key subset of ISRU which has significant cost and risk reduction benefits, and which requires a minimum of infrastructure, is In-Situ Consumable Production (ISCP). ISCP involves acquiring, manufacturing, and storing propellants, fuel cell reagents, and consumables for life support, scientific, and pneumatic equipment using resources available at the site of exploration. The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) is currently coordinating and focusing the Agency’s development of ISCP technologies and systems for robotic and human exploration.

The Orion Crew and Service Modules are often compared to the Apollo Command and Service Modules due to their similarity in basic mission objective: both were dedicated to getting a crew to lunar orbit and safely returning them to Earth. Both spacecraft rely on the environmental control, life support and active thermal control systems (ECLS/ATCS) for the basic functions of providing and maintaining a breathable atmosphere, supplying adequate amount of potable water and maintaining the crew and avionics equipment within certified thermal limits. This assessment will evaluate the driving requirements for both programs and highlight similarities and differences. Further, a short comparison of the two system architectures will be examined including a side by side assessment of some selected system's hardware mass.