SpaceRef - Astronautics

Advanced Life Support Program - The main website at NASA Johnson Space Center for life support system research and development.

Advanced Life Support Program - This is an overview of NASA's life support activities at NASA Headquarters.

Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space - This 1997 report by the National Research Council Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board Committee on Advanced Technology for Human Support in Space evaluates NASA Office of Life and Microgravity Sciences and Applications (OLMSA) programs in Advanced Life Support, Extravehicular Activity Systems, Space Human Factors Engineering, and Space Environmental Factors and Technologies. This report also assesses whether these programs reflect effective strategic and programmatic approaches for NASA's long-term goals for orbital research and the human exploration of space.

Air Revitalization - This page contains a discussion prepared by NASA Johnson Space Center of how air is cleaned of contaminants for reuse within a closed life support system.

Crew Habitable Element Space Radiation Shielding for Exploration Missions - This report, produced in 1992 for the Space Exploration Initiative at NASA Johnson Space Center, explores the requirements for shielding humans against radiation hazards from solar and galactic sources during space travel and planetary exploration.

Internal Atmospheric Pressure and Composition for Planet Surface Habitats and Extravehicular Mobility Units - This report was produced in 1992 for the Space Exploration Initiative at NASA Johnson Space Center that considers the atmospheric pressure and composition that is required to safely support humans as they live in habitats and use spacesuits to explore planetary surfaces.

ISRU Technologies for Mars Life Support - The objective of this work is to perform the technology development and modeling needed to generate high-fidelity metrics for systems analysis of an ISRU (for in-situ resource utilization) plant that incorporates equipment capable of generating upwards of three metric tons of buffer gas for each mission and weighing on the order of 30 kg.

Life Support Systems - This is a collection of links and information pertaining to the development of life support systems for use in transit to- and living upon the surface of Mars online at the Mars Academy.

Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project (LMLSTP) - This research program at NASA Johnson Space Center has supported humans within simulated spacecraft using advanced recycling systems for months at a time.

Monitoring and Control - This site contains a collection of pages prepared by NASA Johnson Space Center on how life support systems will be monitored and controlled including the sensors and software that will be required.

NASA'S Advanced Life Support Systems Human-Rated Test Facility - This paper, produced at NASA Johnson Space Center, describes the Advanced Life Support Program's (ALS) Human-Rated Test Facility (HRTF)

Space Shuttle Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) - The ECLSS consists of an air revitalization system, water coolant loop systems, atmosphere revitalization pressure control system, active thermal control system, supply water and waste water system, waste collection system, and airlock support system. These systems interact to provide a habitable environment for the flight crew in the crew compartment in addition to cooling or heating various orbiter systems or components. [NASA KSC Space Shuttle News reference].

Terrestrial Analogs of Space Exploration Human and Habitation Systems - This 1992 report was produced for the Space Exploration Initiative at NASA Johnson Space Center that explores the use of locations and environmental simulations on earth that can serve as analogs for the conditions humans could expect to face on the Moon and Mars.