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After 11 months of successful operation onboard the ISS US laboratory Destiny, the air quality monitors ANITA (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air) was brought back to Earth on STS126 (ULF2). ANITA is a technology demonstrator flight experiment for continuous air quality monitoring inside the crewed cabin of the ISS with low detection limits and high time resolution. For the first time, the dynamics of the detected trace gas concentrations could be directly resolved by ANITA and correlated to gas events in the cabin. The system is the result of a long term ESA technology development programme initiated more than seventeen years ago. The ANITA mission was a cooperative project between ESA and NASA. ESA's responsibilities were the provision of the H/W, the data acquisition and the data evaluation. NASA was responsible for the launch, accommodation and operation onboard ISS, data download and the transportation of ANITA back to the Earth.

Presently, Europe is faced with the task of implementing the Columbus Space Program. In a stepwise approach the Columbus Initial Orbital Configuration will involve eventually into a European (permanently) Manned Space Infrastructure. Towards this goal, various technological challenges arise for the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS). Some of these have already been identified and are subject of initial investigations. To regain oxygen from the metabolic process, a physico-chemical chain of CO2-concentration, CO2-cracking and water electrolysis is under development. The present status of the preliminary breadboarding, composed of a steam desorbed solid amine concentrator and a Sabatier reactor will be discussed. The third item in this chain, the electrolyser, is not yet implemented in this breadboarding but is under test, demonstrating the technology for regenerative fuel cell application.