If humans are to live permanently in space, regenerative life support systems are an enabling technology and must replace the picnic approach of taking all supplies required for each mission. These systems are classified by technologies as either physical/chemical or bioregenera
Selection note: Curated because “Bioregenerative life support: not a picnic” covers NASA Center KSC, NASA Discipline Life Support Systems, Life Support Systems/instrumentation, Waste Management/methods; it materially informs GShips work on bioregenerative life support.
Evidence boundary: NTRS provides metadata and an abstract, not reviewed full text; methods, results, and current applicability remain unverified. Inclusion is contextual, not automatic claim evidence.
Stable record
ntrs-20040089380
Topic
ecology-food
Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Publisher
Kennedy Space Center
Authors
Knott, W. M.
Year
1998
Editorial state
metadata curated editorial draft
Reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Official link checked
2026-07-25
Source-supplied abstract
If humans are to live permanently in space, regenerative life support systems are an enabling technology and must replace the picnic approach of taking all supplies required for each mission. These systems are classified by technologies as either physical/chemical or bioregenerative. Both of these system-types can recycle water, remove carbon dioxide, produce oxygen, and recover essential elements from waste products. Bioregenerative can also produce food, thus, making it essential if humans are to exist in space independent of earth. A solely bioregenerative life support system includes plants as a biomass production module and microbial organisms in bioreactors as a resource recovery module. In the Advanced Life Support Program, bioregenerative life support systems are being investigated through a research and technology development project which includes large scale testing as part of the Breadboard Project and human tests conducted in the soon to be constructed BioPlex facility. Research and technology development efforts are directed toward optimizing biomass productivity in controlled chambers by developing light weight, energy efficient, and automated systems; recycling liquid and solid wastes; baselining the operation of bioreactors; determining system microbial stability; assessing chemical contamination; and building models required for long term system operations. The program will include space flight studies in the near future to determine if these life support technologies will function in microgravity. When a bioregenerative system is finally incorporated into a mission, the conversion from a picnic and resupply mentality to permanent recycling and independence from earth will be complete.
Abstract text has not been adopted as a GShips conclusion.
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People, review, and conflicts
Prepared by
GShips Project
Editorial status
metadata-curated-editorial-draft
Editorial reviewer
GShips Project editorial synthesis
Last editorial review
No editorial-review date recorded
Independent review
pending
Independent reviewer
No independent reviewer assigned
Last independent review
No independent-review date exists
Last content edit
Not recorded separately
Official source or link verified
2026-07-25
Declared conflicts
The maintainer intends to explore a commercial venture based on some GShips work. No entity, outside funding, customer, sponsor, or indexed-organization relationship currently exists.