Life Support and Habitation Systems

The Life Support and Habitation Systems Focus Area seeks key capabilities and technology needs encompassing a diverse set of engineering and scientific disciplines, all of which provide technology solutions that enable extended human presence in deep space and on planetary surfaces such as Moon and Mars, including Orion, ISS, Gateway, Artemis and Human Landing Systems. The focus is on systems and elements that directly support human missions and astronaut crews, such as Environmental Control and Life Support Systems (ECLSS), Extravehicular Activity (EVA) systems, Human Accommodations, including crew and cabin provisioning, hygiene and clothing systems, and Bioregenerative Life Support, including plant growth for food production. For future crewed missions beyond low-Earth orbit (LEO) and into the solar system, regular resupply of consumables and emergency or quick-return options will not be feasible. New technologies must be compatible with attributes of the environments expected, including microgravity or partial gravity, varying atmospheric pressure and composition (both internal to the cabin and external to the vehicle), space radiation, and the presence of planetary dust. Technologies of interest are those that enable long-duration, safe, economical, and sustainable deep-space human exploration. Special emphasis is placed on developing technologies that will fill existing gaps as described in this solicitation, that reduce requirements for consumables and other resources, including mass, power, volume and crew time, and which will increase safety and reliability with respect to the state-of-the-art. Spacecraft may be untended by crew for long periods, therefore systems must be operable after these intervals of dormancy. ECLSS encompass process technologies and monitoring functions necessary to provide and maintain a livable environment within the pressurized cabin of crewed spacecraft, including environmental monitoring, water recycling, waste management and atmosphere revitalization including particulate removal. There are two specific technical areas of interest for ECLSS submissions. Advancements in heaters and thermal swing components are needed for thermally desorbed carbon dioxide removal and compression beds, including considerations for structured monolithic sorbents created by additive manufacturing or slip casting of the sorbent itself. Secondly, proposals are sought to address challenges in carbon dioxide reduction systems, including separation, collection, removal and storage of carbon particulates, methods to recharge or recycle catalysts and solutions to prevent clogging of frits and filters in recycle gas streams. Also, of interest to ECLSS but included elsewhere in this solicitation, is lunar dust filtration and monitoring for spacecraft cabins. For Human Accommodations, the focus in this solicitation includes advanced heating and refrigeration systems for stored food, personal hygiene including handwash, combination clothes washer and dryer systems and volumetrically efficient concepts for equipment, flexible work surfaces and stowage. In addition, textiles are sought for extreme surface environments and high oxygen atmospheres, applicable to crew clothing. Lastly, of interest to the focus area but included elsewhere, is the subtopic Plant Research Capabilities in Space, which is applicable to Bioregenerative Life Support. Unique needs also exist for the Exploration Extra-vehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU), commonly called spacesuits. Textiles used for the xEMU Environmental Protection Garment (EPG), the outermost component of the xEMU, must resist extreme surface environments including planetary dust and also be suitable for oxygen-rich atmospheres. Applicable to the xEMU's Portable Life Support System (PLSS), sorbent technologies are sought for a low volume, low power and low mass carbon dioxide and humidity control system. In addition, miniaturized gas sensor technologies are needed for measurement of oxygen, carbon dioxide and water vapor within the suit. Please refer to the description and references of each subtopic for further detail to guide development of proposals within this technically diverse focus area.