scholarly journals Biologically-Based and Physiochemical Life Support and In Situ Resource Utilization for Exploration of the Solar System—Reviewing the Current State and Defining Future Development Needs

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 844
Author(s):  
Ryan J. Keller ◽  
William Porter ◽  
Karthik Goli ◽  
Reece Rosenthal ◽  
Nicole Butler ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Biofuel Production ◽  
Fuel Production ◽  
Current State ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Nutritional Benefits

The future of long-duration spaceflight missions will place our vehicles and crew outside of the comfort of low-Earth orbit. Luxuries of quick resupply and frequent crew changes will not be available. Future missions will have to be adapted to low resource environments and be suited to use resources at their destinations to complete the latter parts of the mission. This includes the production of food, oxygen, and return fuel for human flight. In this chapter, we performed a review of the current literature, and offer a vision for the implementation of cyanobacteria-based bio-regenerative life support systems and in situ resource utilization during long duration expeditions, using the Moon and Mars for examples. Much work has been done to understand the nutritional benefits of cyanobacteria and their ability to survive in extreme environments like what is expected on other celestial objects. Fuel production is still in its infancy, but cyanobacterial production of methane is a promising front. In this chapter, we put forth a vision of a three-stage reactor system for regolith processing, nutritional and atmospheric production, and biofuel production as well as diving into what that system will look like during flight and a discussion on containment considerations.

scholarly journals Fuel and oxygen harvesting from Martian regolithic brine

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (50) ◽  
pp. 31685-31689
Author(s):  
Pralay Gayen ◽  
Shrihari Sankarasubramanian ◽  
Vijay K. Ramani
Keyword(s):  
Liquid Phase ◽  
Production Rate ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Water Cycle ◽  
Freezing Point ◽  
Input Power ◽  
Fuel Production ◽  
The Phoenix

NASA’s current mandate is to land humans on Mars by 2033. Here, we demonstrate an approach to produce ultrapure H2 and O2 from liquid-phase Martian regolithic brine at ∼−36 °C. Utilizing a Pb2Ru2O7−δ pyrochlore O2-evolution electrocatalyst and a Pt/C H2-evolution electrocatalyst, we demonstrate a brine electrolyzer with >25× the O2 production rate of the Mars Oxygen In Situ Resource Utilization Experiment (MOXIE) from NASA’s Mars 2020 mission for the same input power under Martian terrestrial conditions. Given the Phoenix lander’s observation of an active water cycle on Mars and the extensive presence of perchlorate salts that depress water’s freezing point to ∼−60 °C, our approach provides a unique pathway to life-support and fuel production for future human missions to Mars.

scholarly journals Combustion Synthesis Technology for a Sustainable Settlement Overnight

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 3
Author(s):  
Osamu Odawara
Keyword(s):  
Combustion Synthesis ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
High Vacuum ◽  
Thermal Control ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
The Moon ◽  
The Earth

Space technology has been developed for frontier exploration not only in low-earth orbit environment but also beyond the earth orbit to the Moon and Mars, where material resources might be strongly restricted and almost impossible to be resupplied from the earth for distant and long-term missions performance toward “long-stays of humans in space”. For performing such long-term space explorations, none would be enough to develop technologies with resources only from the earth; it should be required to utilize resources on other places with different nature of the earth, i.e., in-situ resource utilization. One of important challenges of lunar in-situ resource utilization is thermal control of spacecraft on lunar surface for long-lunar durations. Such thermal control under “long-term field operation” would be solved by “thermal wadis” studied as a part of sustainable researches on overnight survivals such as lunar-night. The resources such as metal oxides that exist on planets or satellites could be refined, and utilized as a supply of heat energy, where combustion synthesis can stand as a hopeful technology for such requirements. The combustion synthesis technology is mainly characterized with generation of high-temperature, spontaneous propagation of reaction, rapid synthesis and high operability under various influences with centrifugal-force, low-gravity and high vacuum. These concepts, technologies and hardware would be applicable to both the Moon and Mars, and these capabilities might achieve the maximum benefits of in-situ resource utilization with the aid of combustion synthesis applications. The present paper mainly concerns the combustion synthesis technologies for sustainable lunar overnight survivals by focusing on “potential precursor synthesis and formation”, “in-situ resource utilization in extreme environments” and “exergy loss minimization with efficient energy conversion”.

In-Situ Resource Utilization

2019 ◽  
pp. 193-210
Author(s):  
Claas Tido Olthoff ◽  
Philipp Reiss
Keyword(s):  
Solar System ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Local Environment ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Background Information ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Use Of Resources ◽  
Exploration Mission ◽  
The Cost

Human spaceflight is an expensive endeavor. Every kilogram that needs to be transported to low Earth orbit or beyond costs tens of thousands of dollars, with the cost increasing exponentially the farther humanity extends its reach into the solar system and beyond. It is therefore prudent, if not necessary, to consider the use of resources that are available at the destination of a given exploration mission. This concept is called in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The processes that are required to extract useful materials from the local environment can not only be used to support a human crew, but also to obtain resources that are of value on Earth and can thus be returned there for commercial gain. This chapter provides background information on ISRU in general and discusses the most important technologies and processes that are currently employed or under development.

scholarly journals Sustainable life support on Mars – the potential roles of cyanobacteria

2015 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cyprien Verseux ◽  
Mickael Baqué ◽  
Kirsi Lehto ◽  
Jean-Pierre P. de Vera ◽  
Lynn J. Rothschild ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Nitrogen Fixing ◽  
Local Resources ◽  
Technological Advances ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
The Cost

AbstractEven though technological advances could allow humans to reach Mars in the coming decades, launch costs prohibit the establishment of permanent manned outposts for which most consumables would be sent from Earth. This issue can be addressed byin situresource utilization: producing part or all of these consumables on Mars, from local resources. Biological components are needed, among other reasons because various resources could be efficiently produced only by the use of biological systems. But most plants and microorganisms are unable to exploit Martian resources, and sending substrates from Earth to support their metabolism would strongly limit the cost-effectiveness and sustainability of their cultivation. However, resources needed to grow specific cyanobacteria are available on Mars due to their photosynthetic abilities, nitrogen-fixing activities and lithotrophic lifestyles. They could be used directly for various applications, including the production of food, fuel and oxygen, but also indirectly: products from their culture could support the growth of other organisms, opening the way to a wide range of life-support biological processes based on Martian resources. Here we give insights into how and why cyanobacteria could play a role in the development of self-sustainable manned outposts on Mars.

scholarly journals Remote automated multi-generational growth and observation of an animal in low Earth orbit

2011 ◽  
Vol 9 (68) ◽  
pp. 596-599 ◽  
Author(s):  
Elizabeth A. Oczypok ◽  
Timothy Etheridge ◽  
Jacob Freeman ◽  
Louis Stodieck ◽  
Robert Johnsen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Experimental System ◽  
Low Earth Orbit ◽  
Radiation Shielding ◽  
Earth Orbit ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
C Elegans ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Animal Growth ◽  
Interplanetary Missions

The ultimate survival of humanity is dependent upon colonization of other planetary bodies. Key challenges to such habitation are (patho)physiologic changes induced by known, and unknown, factors associated with long-duration and distance space exploration. However, we currently lack biological models for detecting and studying these changes. Here, we use a remote automated culture system to successfully grow an animal in low Earth orbit for six months. Our observations, over 12 generations, demonstrate that the multi-cellular soil worm Caenorhabditis elegans develops from egg to adulthood and produces progeny with identical timings in space as on the Earth. Additionally, these animals display normal rates of movement when fully fed, comparable declines in movement when starved, and appropriate growth arrest upon starvation and recovery upon re-feeding. These observations establish C. elegans as a biological model that can be used to detect changes in animal growth, development, reproduction and behaviour in response to environmental conditions during long-duration spaceflight. This experimental system is ready to be incorporated on future, unmanned interplanetary missions and could be used to study cost-effectively the effects of such missions on these biological processes and the efficacy of new life support systems and radiation shielding technologies.

Exploiting a perchlorate-tolerant desert cyanobacterium to support bacterial growth for in situ resource utilization on Mars

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-7
Author(s):  
Daniela Billi ◽  
Beatriz Gallego Fernandez ◽  
Claudia Fagliarone ◽  
Salvatore Chiavarini ◽  
Lynn Justine Rothschild
Keyword(s):  
Resource Utilization ◽  
Bacterial Growth ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Heterotrophic Bacterium ◽  
Threshold Value ◽  
Martian Soil ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Perchlorate Concentration ◽  
Biological Life Support

Abstract The presence of perchlorate in the Martian soil may limit in-situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies to support human outposts. In order to exploit the desiccation, radiation-tolerant cyanobacterium Chroococcidopsis in Biological Life Support Systems based on ISRU, we investigated the perchlorate tolerance of Chroococcidopsis sp. CCMEE 029 and its derivative CCMEE 029 P-MRS. This strain was obtained from dried cells mixed with Martian regolith simulant and exposed to Mars-like conditions during the BIOMEX space experiment. After a 55-day exposure of up to 200 mM perchlorate ions, a tolerance threshold value of 100 mM perchlorate ions was identified for both Chroococcidopsis strains. After 40-day incubation, a Mars-relevant perchlorate concentration of 2.4 mM perchlorate ions, provided as a 60 and 40% mixture of Mg- and Ca-perchlorate, had no negative effect on the growth rate of the two strains. A proof-of-concept experiment was conducted using Chroococcidopsis lysate in ISRU technologies to feed a heterotrophic bacterium, i.e. an Escherichia coli strain capable of metabolizing sucrose. The sucrose content was fivefold increased in Chroococcidopsis cells through air-drying and the yielded lysate successfully supported the bacterial growth. This suggested that Chroococcidopsis is a suitable candidate for ISRU technologies to support heterotrophic BLSS components in a Mars-relevant perchlorate environment that would prove challenging to many other cyanobacteria, allowing a ‘live off the land’ approach on Mars.

scholarly journals Imagining Sustainable Human Ecosystems with Power-to-x in-situ Resource Utilisation Technology

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark Baldry ◽  
Nicholas Gurieff ◽  
Declan Keogh
Keyword(s):  
Global Economy ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Raw Materials ◽  
Integrated System ◽  
Resource Utilisation ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Hydrogen Water ◽  
Long Duration ◽  
Human Ecosystems

Extensive in-situ resource utilisation (ISRU) will be essential to enable long-duration stays on Luna and Mars and reduce reliance on resupply from Earth. Early development of ISRU technologies has focused on standalone capabilities for specific targets related to life support and ascent propellant. An unexplored opportunity remains for greatly expanding the scope of materials that can be supplied by ISRU, and for integrating various technology platforms into a larger system. Recent advances in power-to-X technology aimed at decarbonising the global economy have made it possible to drive key chemical processes using electricity with small-scale, modular reactor. This paper proposes a vision for an integrated system of ISRU processes based on power-to-X technology to produce oxygen, hydrogen, water, methane, polymers, metal alloys, and synthetic fertilisers, using Martian regolith, atmosphere, and ice. A ‘building block’ strategy is adopted to convert raw materials into versatile intermediaries, which can then be combined to form essential products. A wider range of raw materials are available on Mars compared to Luna, suggesting greater opportunity for ISRU deployment to compensate for the greater time and cost requirements for a Mars resupply mission.

An automaton rover enabling long duration in-situ science in extreme environments

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Sauder ◽  
Evan Hilgemann ◽  
Bernard Bienstock ◽  
Aaron Parness
Keyword(s):  
Extreme Environments ◽  
Long Duration

The Earth Charter and Ecological Integrity—Some Policy Implications

2004 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 76-92
Author(s):  
Brendan Mackey
Keyword(s):  
Life Support ◽  
Ecological Integrity ◽  
Ecological Systems ◽  
Policy Implications ◽  
Natural Processes ◽  
Current State ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Earth Charter

AbstractThe concept of ecological integrity is deeply embedded within the Earth Charter. Ecological integrity refers to the full functioning of a suite of natural processes. "Natural" refers to processes that exist without human input. Arguments against the scientifi c validity of ecological integrity are based on the proposition that the current state of ecological systems merely refl ects past contingencies and consequently there is no natural, healthy condition that can be prescribed scientifi cally. Hence, nature conservation and environmental management goals are a matter of individual and social values and priorities. This argument can be rejected largely on the grounds that integrity of ecosystem processes can be empirically demonstrated, and that the continued wellbeing of humanity depends on the ecological integrity of various natural processes known as Earth's life support systems. The main policy implications of ecological integrityfl ow from accepting that the future wellbeing of the human endeavour is irrevocably coupled to the ongoing integrity of the total Earth system. The caring and compassionate attitude towards wild animals also promoted by the Earth Charter provides additional moral impetus to protecting habitat in situ and consequently ecological integrity. Protecting ecological integrity will require both reorientating the human endeavour towards new patterns of production and consumption together with a commitment to making room for wild nature.

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