BLSS: A Contribution to Future Life Support

Abstract

The problem of the supply of basic life supporting ingredients was analyzed. Storage volume and launch weight of water, oxygen and food in a conventional nonregenerable life support system are directly proportional to the crew size and the length of the mission. Because of spacecraft payload limitations this requires that the carbon, or food, recycling loop, the third and final part in the life support system, be closed to further reduce logistics cost. Advanced life support systems need to be developed in which metabolic waste products are regenerated and food is produced. Biological life support systems (BLSS) satisfy the space station environmental control functions and close the food cycle. Numerous scientific space experiments were delineated, the results of which are applicable to the support of BLSS concepts. Requirements and concepts are defined and the feasibility of BLSS for space application are analyzed. The BLSS energy mass relation, and the possibilities to influence it to achieve advantages for the BLSS are determined. A program for the development of BLSS is proposed