Space architectures

Book chapter (2016)

Authors

Barbara Imhof LIQUIFER Systems Group
A.C.J. Vermeulen LIQUIFER Systems Group
Peter Weiss LIQUIFER Systems Group
Emma Flynn Astudio
Richard Hyams Astudio
Max Rengifo Astudio
Susmita Mohanty Maker Tower
Susan Fairburn Drummondville
Affiliation
External organisation
Synthetic biology International Space Station Urban agriculture Phase change material Lunar surface
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Published Date

15-11-2016

Language

English

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External organisation

Abstract

When an article about one of the largest biospheric projects entitled “Noah’s Ark—The Sequel” (Reingold 1990) appeared in September 1990, the author Edwin Reingold could not anticipate that Biosphere 2 would become the proof that constructing a closed ecology is one of the toughest challenges for humankind and for long-term spaceflight. It is not commonly known that it is in fact a prerequisite for future space exploration to have a reliable closed-loop life-support system in place. To date, nobody in the world has such a system ready. We now know that the Biosphere 2 experiment failed to a certain extent because of soil bacteria respiring and producing a lot of carbon dioxide. This means that the oxygen levels decreased (Fisher Smith 2010) quickly and dramatically. It seemed that the wrong choice of soil was made for the climate in Arizona. Soon after the door was sealed, the crew already felt the change in the atmospheric composition, although they were only 3 months into the mission (Broad 1993).