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An energy balance was performed on the life support equipment used during the Phase III, 90-day, human Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project at the Johnson Space Center. The purpose of the analysis was to account for all the energy sources, uses, and losses in the test-bed. Knowledge from this task may allow more energy efficient designs to be developed. Control volumes were defined and energy balance equations were generated for major systems. The analyses succeeded in balancing the energy fairly well for several systems. Further, the data showed that inefficiencies existed, and means of design optimization were subsequently suggested.

An integrated water recovery system was operated for 91 days in support of the Lunar Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) Phase III test. The system combined both biological and physical-chemical processes to treat a combined wastewater stream consisting of waste hygiene water, urine, and humidity condensate. Biological processes were used for primary degradation of organic material as well as for nitrification of ammonium in the wastewater. Physical-chemical systems removed inorganic salts from the water and provided post-treatment. The integrated system provided potable water to the crew throughout the test. This paper describes the water recovery system and reviews the performance of the system during the test.

In a crewed spacecraft environment, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) and moisture control are crucial. Hamilton Sundstrand has developed a stable and efficient amine-based CO2 and water vapor sorbent, SA9T, that is well suited for use in a spacecraft environment. The sorbent is efficiently packaged in pressure-swing regenerable beds that are thermally linked to improve removal efficiency and minimize vehicle thermal loads. Flows are controlled with a single spool valve. This technology has been baselined for the new Orion spacecraft, but additional data was needed on the operational characteristics of the package in a simulated spacecraft environment. One unit was tested with simulated metabolic loads in a closed chamber at Johnson Space Center during the latter part of 2006. Those test results were reported in a 2007 ICES paper.

A system of amine-based carbon dioxide (CO2) and water vapor sorbent in pressure-swing regenerable beds has been developed by Hamilton Sundstrand and is baselined for the Orion Atmosphere Revitalization System (ARS). In two previous years at this conference, reports were presented on extensive Johnson Space Center (JSC) testing of the technology, which was performed in a representative environment with simulated human metabolic loads. The next step in developmental testing at JSC was to use real human loads in the spring of 2008.

Thermal control systems for space application plant growth chambers offer unique challenges. The ability to control temperature and humidity independently gives greater flexibility for optimizing plant growth. Desired temperature and relative humidity range vary widely from 15°C to 35°C and 65% to 85% respectively. On top of all of these variables, the thermal control system must also be conservative in power and mass. These requirements to develop and test a robust thermal control system for space applications led to the design and development of the Environmental System Test Stand (ESTS) at NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC). The ESTS was designed to be a size constrained, environmental control system test stand with the flexibility to allow for a variety of thermal and lighting technologies. To give greater understanding to the environmental control system, the development of the ESTS included both mathematical models and the physical test stand.

The Waste and Hygiene Compartment will serve as the primary facility for metabolic waste management and personal hygiene on the United States segment of the International Space Station. The Compartment encloses the volume of two standard ISS racks and will be installed into Node 3 after launch inside a Multipurpose Logistics Module on the Space Shuttle. Long duration space flight requires a departure from the established hygiene and waste disposal practices employed on the Space Shuttle. This paper describes requirements and a conceptual design for the Waste and Hygiene Compartment that are both logistically practical and acceptable to the crew.

The work presented in this paper summarizes the early results of an integrated advanced water recovery system test conducted by the Crew and Thermal Systems Division (CTSD) at NASA-Johnson Space Center (JSC). The system design and the results of the first two months of operation are presented. The overall objective of this test is to demonstrate the capability of an integrated advanced water recovery system to produce potable quality water for at least six months. Each subsystem is designed for operation in microgravity. The primary treatment system consists of a biological system for organic carbon and ammonia removal. Dissolved solids are removed by reverse osmosis and air evaporation systems. Finally, ion exchange technology in combination with photolysis or photocatalysis is used for polishing of the effluent water stream. The wastewater stream consists of urine and urine flush water, hygiene wastewater and a simulated humidity condensate.

Research into increased capacity solid amine sorbents has found a candidate (SA9T) that will provide enough increase in cyclic carbon dioxide removal capacity to produce a fully redundant Regenerative Carbon Dioxide Removal System (RCRS). This system will eliminate the need for large quantities of backup LiOH, thus gaining critical storage space on board the shuttle orbiter. This new sorbent has shown an ability to package two fully redundant (four) sorbent beds together with their respective valves, fans and plumbing to create two operationally independent systems. The increase in CO2 removal capacity of the new sorbent will allow these two systems to fit within the envelope presently used by the RCRS. This paper reports on the sub-scale amine testing performed in support of the development effort. In addition, this paper will provide a preliminary design schematic of a fully redundant RCRS.

A key component of an Advanced Life Support (ALS) system is the solid waste handling system. One of the most important data sets for determining what solid waste handling technologies are needed is a solid waste model. A preliminary solid waste model based on a six-person crew was developed prior to the 2000 Solid Waste Processing and Resource Recovery (SWPRR) workshop. After the workshop, comments from the ALS community helped refine the model. Refinements included better estimates of both inedible plant biomass and packaging materials. Estimates for Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) waste, water processor brine solution, as well as the water contents for various solid wastes were included in the model refinement efforts. The wastes were re-categorized and the dry wastes were separated from wet wastes. This paper details the revised model as of the end of 2001. The packaging materials, as well as the biomass wastes, vary significantly between different proposed Mars missions.

The International Space Station Waste Collector Subsystem Risk Mitigation Experiment (ISS WCS RME) was flown as the primary (Shuttle) WCS on Space Shuttle flight STS-104 (ISS-7A) in July 2001, to validate new design enhancements. In general, the WCS is utilized for collecting, storing, and compacting fecal & associated personal hygiene waste, in a zero gravity environment. In addition, the WCS collects and transfers urine to the Shuttle waste storage tank. All functions are executed while controlling odors and providing crew comfort. The ISS WCS previously flew on three Shuttle flights as the Extended Duration Orbiter (EDO) WCS, as it was originally designed to support extended duration Space Shuttle flights up to 30 days in length. Soon after its third flight, the Space Shuttle Program decided to no longer require 30 day extended mission duration capability and provided the EDO WCS to the ISS Program.

Two crops of lettuce (Lactuca sativa cv. Waldmann's Green) were grown in the Regenerative Life Support Systems (RLSS) Test Bed at NASA's Johnson Space Center. The RLSS Test Bed is an atmospherically closed, controlled environment facility for the evaluation of regenerative life support systems using higher plants. The chamber encloses 10.6 m2 of growth area under cool-white fluorescent lamps. Lettuce was double seeded in 480 pots, each containing about 250 cm3 of calcined-clay substrate. Each pot was irrigated with half-strength Hoagland's nutrient solution at an average total applied amount of 2.5 and 1.8 liters pot-1, respectively, over each of the two 30-day crop tests. Average environmental and cultural conditions during both tests were 23°C air temperature, 72% relative humidity, 1000 ppm carbon dioxide (CO2), 16h light/8h dark photoperiod, and 356 μmol m-2s-1 photosynthetic photon flux.

This paper discusses the Portable Life Support Subsystem (PLSS) packaging design work done by the NASA and Hamilton Sundstrand in support of the 3 future space missions; Lunar, Mars and zero-g. The goal is to seek ways to reduce the weight of PLSS packaging, and at the same time, develop a packaging scheme that would make PLSS technology changes less costly than the current packaging methods. This study builds on the results of NASA's in-house 1998 study, which resulted in the “Flex PLSS” concept. For this study the present EMU schematic (low earth orbit) was used so that the work team could concentrate on the packaging. The Flex PLSS packaging is required to: protect, connect, and hold the PLSS and its components together internally and externally while providing access to PLSS components internally for maintenance and for technology change without extensive redesign impact. The goal of this study was two fold: 1.

Approximately 50% of the water consumed by International Space Station crewmembers is water recovered from cabin humidity condensate. Condensing heat exchangers in the Russian Service Module (SM) and the United States On-Orbit Segment (USOS) are used to control cabin humidity levels. In the SM, humidity condensate flows directly from the heat exchanger to a water recovery system. In the USOS, a metal bellows tank located in the US Laboratory Module (LAB) collects and stores condensate, which is periodically off-loaded in about 20-liter batches to Contingency Water Containers (CWCs). The CWCs can then be transferred to the SM and connected to a Condensate Feed Unit that pumps the condensate from the CWCs into the water recovery system for processing. Samples of the condensate in the tank are collected during the off-loads and returned to Earth for analyses.

Meeting radiation protection requirements during EVA is predominantly an operational issue with some potential considerations for temporary shelter. The issue of spacesuit shielding is mainly guided by the potential of accidental exposure when operational and temporary shelter considerations fail to maintain exposures within operational limits. In this case, very high exposure levels are possible which could result in observable health effects and even be life threatening. Under these assumptions, potential spacesuit radiation exposures have been studied using known historical solar particle events to gain insight on the usefulness of modification of spacesuit design in which the control of skin exposure is a critical design issue and reduction of blood forming organ exposure is desirable.

This paper describes the effort and accomplishments for developing flexible fabrics with high thermal conductivity (FFHTC) for spacesuits to improve thermal performance, lower weight and reduce complexity. Commercial and additional space exploration applications that require substantial performance enhancements in removal and transport of heat away from equipment as well as from the human body can benefit from this technology. Improvements in thermal conductivity were achieved through the use of modified polymers containing thermally conductive additives. The objective of the FFHTC effort is to significantly improve the thermal conductivity of the liquid cooled ventilation garment by improving the thermal conductivity of the subcomponents (i.e., fabric and plastic tubes).

The Shuttle Orbiter humidity control and carbon dioxide removal system for extended duration missions presently uses a solid amine called HS-C. This August, on board STS-62, a new solid amine called HS-C+ will be used. HS-C+ uses the same amine and the substrate material, but a different preparation process. Forty-seven breakthrough tests have been conducted to characterize the performance of HS-C+. CO2 partial pressure, bed temperature, and H2O partial pressure were varied. Eleven HS-C breakthrough tests were also run to provide a direct comparison. Under all conditions tested, HS-C+ outperformed HS-C. Both materials adsorb all CO2 and H2O available at the start of a test when the beds are fully desorbed. As the bed becomes partially loaded, the CO2 and H2O adsorption rates decrease rapidly. HS-C+ continues adsorbing all CO2 and H2O available for a longer time. Greater surface area on HS-C+ may cause the improved performance.

Two simulated spacecraft water systems are being used to evaluate the effectiveness of iodine for controlling microbial contamination within such systems. An iodine concentration of about 2.0 mg/L is maintained in one system by passing ultrapure water through an iodinated ion exchange resin. Stainless steel coupons with electropolished and mechanically-polished sides are being used to monitor biofilm formation. Results after three years of operation show a single episode of significant bacterial growth in the iodinated system when the iodine level dropped to 1.9 mg/L. This growth was apparently controlled by replacing the iodinated ion exchange resin, thereby increasing the iodine level. The second batch of resin has remained effective in controlling microbial growth down to an iodine level of 1.0 mg/L. Scanning electron microscopy indicates that the iodine has impeded but may have not completely eliminated the formation of biofilm.

The Space Shuttle humidity separator prefilter was developed to remove debris from the air/water stream that flows from the cabin condensing heat exchanger to the humidity separator. Debris in this flow stream has caused humidity separator pitot tube clogging and subsequent water carryover on several Shuttle flights. The first design concept of the prefilter was flown on STS-40 in June, 1991. The prefilter was installed on-orbit. Video footage of its operation revealed that the prefilter did not pass water at a constant rate, resulting in a tendency to slug the humidity separator. The results from this flight test have resulted in a complete redesign of the prefilter. In this paper the first prefilter design is described, the flight results from STS-40 are examined, and the on-orbit performance of the prefilter is explained. The redesigned prefilter is described with emphasis on the features that should allow successful reduced gravity operation.

The primary objectives of this study were to determine the factors that affect stability during locomotion in both lunar and martian gravity environments and to determine the criteria needed to enhance stability and traction. This study tested the effects of changing the speed of locomotion and the pattern of locomotion under three gravity conditions. The results showed that as the gravity level decreased, the amount of vertical and horizontal forces dropped significantly. The results also showed that there are some similarities across gravity levels with regard to changing the speed as well as the pattern of locomotion. In general, an increase in the speed resulted in an increase in the vertical and the horizontal forces. A change in the pattern of locomotion showed that even at reduced gravity, it will be more difficult to stop than compared to continue or start the motion.

On the International Space Station (ISS), humidity condensate will be collected from the atmosphere and treated by multifiltration to produce potable water for use by the crews. Ground-based development tests have demonstrated that multifiltration beds filled with a series of ion-exchange resins and activated carbons can remove many inorganic and organic contaminants effectively from wastewaters. As a precursor to the use of this technology on the ISS, a demonstration of multifiltration treatment under microgravity conditions was undertaken. On the Space Shuttle, humidity condensate from cabin air is recovered in the atmosphere revitalization system, then stored and periodically vented to space vacuum. A Shuttle Condensate Adsorption Device (SCAD) containing sorbent materials similar to those planned for use on the ISS was developed and flown on STS-68 as a continuation of DSO 317, which was flown initially on STS-45 and STS-47.