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After the launch to the International Space Station with The Space Shuttle flight STS 118 13A.1 on August 9th 2007 and the accommodation in the US lab Destiny, the air quality monitor ANITA (Analyzing Interferometer for Ambient Air) has been successfully put into operation. ANITA is a technology demonstrator flight experiment being able to continuously monitor with high time resolution the air conditions within the crewed cabins of the ISS (International Space Station). The system has its origin in a long term ESA (European Space Agency) technology development program. The ANITA mission itself is an ESA-NASA cooperative project. ESA is responsible for the provision of the HW (Hardware), the data acquisition and data evaluation. NASA's responsibilities are launch, accommodation in the US Lab Destiny, operation and data download.

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.

Hydrophobic molecular sieves have been identified as of potential interest for the adsorption of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere of a man-inhabited spacecraft. A study was thus initiated in order to evaluate the applicability and competitiveness of the hydrophobic molecular sieves - including, notably, activated carbon, Silicalite-I, Deca-dodecasil, and Zeolite-Y - for this utilisation. The first phase of this study was performed in three steps: a material review of the scientific community and commercially available materials, test of samples under representative conditions, and finally, the development of a breadboard design. Based on the results of these tasks, two coconut-based activated carbon materials are felt to be potentially competitive with the currently planned solid amine and have additionally a variety of other advantages for a space application.

Hydrophobic molecular sieves may present a very interesting alternative for the removal of carbon dioxide from air within a closed regenerative life support system, such as that within a crewed spacecraft. An ongoing study is researching and testing a variety of materials providing comparative static and dynamic test data. These data provide information concerning the performance of the chosen materials at representative conditions and the operational protocol best adapted to the selective adsorption of CO2 by the hydrophobic molecular sieves.

For long duration manned space missions an advanced ECLSS is required to recycle all consumables to a maximum extend possible. Recycling of oxygen out of the atmosphere in a crewed spacecraft is more important the longer the duration of the mission (ISS, Moon, Mars). On behalf of ESA, an air revitalization technology, to reclaim the oxygen from metabolically produced carbon dioxide, was developed in a step-wise approach since 1985. Herein, the air revitalization system technology demonstrator ( ARSD ), designed for a crew of 3 man, was built and successfully tested in a closed chamber for about 600 hours. (/1/) The current concept of the ARSD leads still to a considerable loss of hydrogen, due to the production of methane, which is currently vented. In order to close the hydrogen loop in the air revitalization system, a study was performed to demonstrate the feasibility to decompose methane, reclaim the hydrogen and dispose the deposited carbon.

This paper gives a status report on the flight experiment ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air), the development status of the successor unit ANITA II and spin-off activity such as the use of an ANITA-type instrument on a submarine. The ANITA system represents a precursor for ANITA II, a permanent continuous trace gas monitoring system on the International Space Station (ISS). The measurement task in a submarine environment is similar to the analysis in the closed environment on the ISS except for the different trace gases present. A proposed test measurement campaign on a submarine in 2006 is outlined in the paper. The ANITA air analyser can detect and quantify quasi on-line and simultaneously 30 trace gases with sub-ppm detection limits in addition to carbon dioxide and water vapour [4, 10].

The flight experiment ANITA (Analysing Interferometer for Ambient Air) has been developed within the long term European technology development programme on air monitoring in manned space cabins. Built under ESA responsibilities, ANITA has become an important inter agency cooperative activity on air monitoring with NASA. Within this cooperation, the system has recently been handed over to NASA ISS Medical Project (ISSMP) at Johnson Space Center to prepare the upcoming launch to the International Space Station (ISS) now with STS-118. The ANITA air analyser can detect and quantify online and with high time resolution 30 trace gases simultaneously with sub-ppm detection limits in addition to the always present background gases carbon dioxide and water vapour [6, 12]. This air quality monitor allows therefore the detection and monitoring of trace gas dynamics of the spacecraft atmosphere, providing continuous air monitoring as well as crew warning capability in case of malfunctions.