A Look at Life Support Systems on the ISS

Imagine a place where you are living in a sealed box, floating 250 miles above Earth. There is no fresh air, no new water, and no way to simply throw away your trash. This is the reality for astronauts on the International Space Station (ISS). To survive in this kind of a place, they have to bring their home with them. This home, which provides everything they need to live, from air to water, is a huge and complex system.

This system is called the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), but in simple words, it is the invisible lifeline that keeps astronauts alive. It is the “air conditioning, water purification, and waste management system” for the space station. The ECLSS is one of the most important and amazing parts of the ISS, and it is a masterpiece of engineering. In this article, we will take a deep dive into the systems that make life in space possible, from how the ISS makes its own air to how it recycles every single drop of water.

What Is a Life Support System? The Invisible Lifeline

A life support system is any mechanical device or system that provides everything a person needs to survive in a place where they would not normally be able to live. On Earth, our planet’s atmosphere, oceans, and natural cycles do all of this for us. But in space, we have to create our own.

The life support system on the ISS is a closed-loop system. This means that it is designed to recycle and reuse everything. It is a system that tries to copy all the things that our planet does for us, but it has to do it in a small, sealed box. The main job of the system is to:

• Provide a clean and breathable atmosphere.
• Provide clean drinking water.
• Control the temperature and humidity.
• Remove carbon dioxide and other bad gases.
• Deal with all the waste that the astronauts create.

The ECLSS on the ISS is not just one system; it is a series of different systems that all work together to provide a home for the astronauts.

The Challenge: Living in a Sealed Box

The biggest challenge for a life support system in space is the sealed environment. A crew of about six to seven astronauts can generate a huge amount of waste and use a huge amount of resources. If all of these things had to be sent from Earth, it would cost a huge amount of money and would be impossible for a long-term mission. For example, a crew of six astronauts would need about 6,000 gallons of water per year. The cost of sending that much water to space would be astronomical.

So, the life support system on the ISS has to be very efficient. It has to recycle everything, from the water that the astronauts drink to the air that they breathe. This is a crucial step in preparing for a future where we will go to the Moon and Mars, where we will not have a resupply ship from Earth.

The Air We Breathe: Making Oxygen and Cleaning the Air

The air that astronauts breathe on the ISS is the same as the air we breathe on Earth, about 78% nitrogen and 21% oxygen. The system that provides this air is one of the most important on the station.

Making Oxygen

The ISS makes most of its own oxygen using a very clever process called electrolysis. This process uses electricity from the station’s solar panels to split water into hydrogen and oxygen. The oxygen is then pumped into the cabin for the astronauts to breathe. This system has been operating on the ISS for many years and is a crucial part of the station’s life support.

The water that is used for this process is recycled water from the station’s water recovery system. So, in a way, the oxygen that the astronauts breathe is made from the water that they drink and from their own sweat and breath.

Cleaning the Air

When we breathe, we take in oxygen and we breathe out carbon dioxide. On the ISS, this carbon dioxide has to be removed from the air. The station uses a special system to remove the carbon dioxide. This system uses special filters that capture the carbon dioxide and then vent it into space.

The system also has to remove other bad gases that come from the equipment on the station and from the astronauts themselves. These gases are removed with special filters that are made of activated charcoal. This ensures that the air in the station is always clean and safe to breathe.

The Water We Drink: Recycling Everything

The water system on the ISS is an incredible feat of engineering. The system recycles almost every drop of water that is used on the station. It is a closed-loop system, which means that nothing is wasted.

The water that the astronauts drink is recycled from a few different sources:

• Wastewater: This includes the water that is used for washing and for cleaning.
• Condensation: This is the water vapor that the astronauts exhale in their breath and that evaporates from their bodies as sweat. This water is collected as condensation on the station’s walls and is then put into the water recycling system.
• Urine: This is the most impressive and the most important part of the system. The urine from the astronauts is collected and is then processed to get clean drinking water. It may sound a little gross, but the water that is produced is so clean that it is even cleaner than the drinking water that we drink on Earth.

The water recovery system on the ISS is a crucial part of the station’s life support. It is a very expensive and complex system, but it is necessary for a long-term stay in space. It is a lesson in sustainability that we are learning in space that could one day help us on Earth.

The Food We Eat: A Challenge of Its Own

The food system on the ISS is a much simpler one. The food that the astronauts eat is prepared on Earth and is sent to the station in resupply missions. The food is specially prepared to last for a long time and is in packages that are designed to be used in zero gravity. The food is either dehydrated and requires water to be added, or it is in vacuum-sealed packages.

The astronauts have a wide variety of food to choose from, from fruits and vegetables to meat and fish. They have a special heater that they can use to warm up their food, and they eat from trays with magnets to keep their utensils from floating away.

In the future, for a long trip to Mars, astronauts will have to find a way to grow their own food. This is an area of research that is being done on the ISS today, where they are growing plants in special greenhouses.

The Waste We Produce: A System for Everything

Just like on Earth, astronauts in space create a lot of waste. The waste that they create has to be dealt with in a way that is safe and clean. The solid waste from the toilets is collected and stored in special containers. The containers are then loaded into resupply ships that are designed to burn up in the atmosphere. The waste is then incinerated, leaving no waste in space.

The water that the astronauts use is recycled, and the carbon dioxide that they breathe out is removed from the air. The system is a closed-loop system, which means that everything is used and reused. This is a very important part of the station’s life support.

The Future of Life Support: A Self-Sustaining Home

The life support systems on the ISS are a testament to our ability to live in space. But for a mission to Mars, which would take two to three years, we will need a life support system that is even more self-sufficient.

Scientists and engineers are now working on a new kind of life support system that can completely recycle everything, from water to food. They are working on a system that can grow food and recycle all the waste from the astronauts to be used to grow more food. This would be a completely closed-loop system that would be able to sustain life for a very long time without any resupply from Earth. The lessons we learn from the ISS today will be crucial for building a permanent home on Mars.

Conclusion

The life support systems on the International Space Station are the invisible lifeline that keeps astronauts alive. They are a series of complex and amazing systems that provide a clean atmosphere, safe drinking water, and a way to deal with waste in the sealed environment of space. The system is a testament to our ingenuity and our desire to explore. The lessons that we are learning from the ISS today will be a crucial part of our journey to the Moon and Mars, and they will help us to build a sustainable home on another world.