Controlled Ecological Life Support System

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Controlled (or Closed) Ecological Life Support Systems or (acronym CELSS) are a type of scientific endeavor to create a self-supporting life support system for space stations and colonies typically through controlled ecological environments, such as the BioHome, BIOS-3 and Biosphere 2.

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[edit] Original concept

CELSS was first pioneered by the Russians during the infamous "Space Race" in the 1950s-60s. Originated by Konstantin Tsiolkovsky and furthered by V.I. Vernadsky, the first forays into this science were the use of closed, unmanned ecosystems, expanding into the research facility known as the BIOS-3.

Then in 1965, manned experiments began in the BIOS-3.

[edit] Rationale

Space travel, thus far, has been limited to our own solar system. Also, everything that astronauts would need in the way of life support (air, water, and food) has been brought with them. This may be economical for short missions of space craft, but it is not the most elegant solution when dealing with the life support systems of a long-term craft (such as a generation ship) or a settlement.

The aim of CELSS is to create a regenerative environment that can support and maintain human life via agricultural means.

[edit] Components of CELSS

[edit] Air Revitalization

In non-CELSS environments, air replenishment and CO2 processing typically consists of stored air tanks and CO2 scrubbers. The drawback to this method lies in the fact that upon depletion the tanks would have to be refilled; the scrubbers would also require replacement after they become ineffective.

There is also the issue of processing toxic fumes, which come from the synthetic materials used in the construction of habitats. Therefore the issue of how air quality is maintained requires attention; in experiments, it was found that the plants also removed volatile organic compounds offgassed by synthetic materials used to build and maintain all man-made habitats.

In CELSS, air is initially supplied by external supply, but is maintained by the use of foliage plants, which create oxygen in photosynthesis (aided by the waste-byproduct of human respiration, CO2). Eventually, the main goal of a CELSS environment is to have foliage plants take over the complete and total production of oxygen needs; this would make the system a closed, instead of controlled, system.

[edit] Food / Consumables Production

As with all present forays into space, crews have had to store all consumables they require prior to launch. Typically, hard-food consumables were freeze dried so that the craft's weight could be reduced.

Of course, in a self-sustaining ecosystem, a place for crops to grow would be set aside, allowing foods to be grown and cultivated. The larger the group of people, the more crops would have to be grown.

As for water, experiments have shown that it would be derived from condensate in the air (a byproduct of air conditioning and vapors), as well as excess moisture from plants. It would then have to be filtered by some means, either by nature or by machine.

[edit] Wastewater Treatment

Early space-flight had travelers either ejecting their wastes into space or storing it for a return trip.

CELSS studied means of breaking down human wastes and, if possible, integrating the processed products back into the ecology. For instance, urine was processed into water, which was safe for use in toilets and watering plants.

Wastewater treatment makes use of plants, particularly aquatic, to process the wastewater. It has been shown that the more waste is treated by the aquatic plants (or, more specifically, their root systems), the larger the aquatic plants grow.

In tests, such as those done in the BioHome, the plants also made viable compost as a growth medium for crops.

[edit] Closed versus Controlled

Closed systems are completely self-reliant (an ultimate example of this system would be Earth "Biosphere 1" itself).

Controlled systems are dependent on certain factors, such as human involvement for maintenance issues.

[edit] Notable CELSS Projects

For a full list of CELSS projects, see Category: Controlled Ecological Life Support Systems.

[edit] Other types of Regenerative Ecological Systems

  • Environmental Control and Life Support System (acronym ECLSS)
  • Engineered Closed/Controlled EcoSystem (acronym ECCES)

[edit] Related Links

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