Air Revitalization Demonstration on the JEM (KIBO) for a Manned Space Exploration

To further advance manned space exploration, a critical issue that must be addressed is recycling of resources, especially air revitalization and water reclamation. Japan is already a leader in terrestrial environmental technologies, and aims to apply this know-how to develop air and water recycling technologies for space applications. To support proposed post-ISS missions such as manned lunar or asteroid exploration and an Earth-Moon Lagrange point (EML1) space station, JAXA is developing an air revitalization system for an on-orbit demonstration on the International Space Station (ISS) early in the extended ISS operation period (2015–2020). The requirements for this technical demonstrator have been investigated and its specifications established. Regenerative life support functions include oxygen recovery from carbon dioxide using a combination of CO2 reduction by a Sabatier process and O2 generation by electrolysis. Each air and water re-vitalization subsystem is planned to be transported to the ISS separately by successive H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV) launches in the sequence Water Reclamation → Water Electrolysis → CO2 Reduction. This paper presents the air re-vitalization system developed by JAXA, and gives details of water electrolysis in microgravity.