Concepts, Components, and Controls for a CELSS

If humans are to explore the universe and establish bases on the Lunar surface, Mars, and other extraterrestrial bodies, development of an advanced life support system (ALS) is essential. A bioregenerative ALS is the basic concept of a controlled ecological life support system (CELSS). The selection of the components in a CELSS for long duration missions would most likely be a combination of bioregenerative and physico-chemical components. Requirements for design and development of an ALS system include modularity, open architecture, autonomous control, and high reliability. Autonomous control is needed to maintain appropriate environments and provide robutsness in the event of a communication failure, and must be capable of recognizing and modifying the control environments based on the observed biological responses and life support requirements. The development of CELSS components meeting these requirements will result in an advanced life support system that can enable the exploration of space and human colonization of the universe.