Life Support Research and Applications

Profiles & Overviews | Flight Hardware | Still Images | Links

Experiment/Mission Information

Experiment Information from the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive
Description: This link to the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive provides a list of relevant descriptions of flight experiments investigating Live Support.

Mission Information from the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive
Description: This link to the NASA Life Sciences Data Archive provides a list of relevant descriptions of space flight missions that carried experiments investigating Life Support.

Profiles & Overviews

"Cold" Plasma Breaks Down Pollutants
Description: This article describes how technology may enable new ways to create low-temperature plasma, which could potentially be used to destroy environmental contaminants both on Earth and on spacecraft. (Posted on 11/03)

Genetic Research Produces a More Nutritious Sweet Potato
Description: This article describes a new kind of sweet potato that has been genetically modified to produce more protein. This type of food may be a part of bioregenerative life support systems used in future long-duration space flights. (Posted on 11/03)

Greenhouses for Mars
Description: Profiling NASA-supported research being conducted by a group of scientists at the University of Florida, Greenhouses for Mars provides a brief introduction to plants in low-pressure environments and links to more in-depth coverage of the group's research. (Posted on 05/04)

Plant-centered Biosystems in Space Environments: Technological Concepts for Developing a Plant Genetic Assessment and Control Systems
Description: This paper, published by ASGSB, describes a proposed module for measuring plant response to the space environment and optimizing their growth under these conditions. (Posted on 11/03)

Sniffing Out Air Quality with an Electronic Nose
Description: This article profiles an "electronic nose" that NASA is developing to monitor air quality on the International Space Station. (Posted on 11/03)

Wastewater Filtration in Space and on Earth
Description: This article describes a prototype for a water filtration device that will be used to recycle wastewater in space, an essential step in enabling long-duration space flight. (Posted on 11/03)

Flight Hardware

Animal Enclosure Module
Animal Enclosure Module

Description: The Animal Enclosure Module (AEM), designed as a habitat for up to five rodents, has flown on many Space Shuttle missions to support a variety of studies. (Excerpt from Life into Space 1991-1998) (Posted on 01/01)


Primate Life Support System
Primate Life Support System

Description: The Primate Life Support System, designed to provide a complete system to protect, nourish, and collect data from a primate flown on an unmanned biosatellite, flew on Biosatellite III. (Excerpt from Life into Space 1965-1990) (Posted on 12/00)


Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF)
Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF)

Description: The Research Animal Holding Facility (RAHF), an animal habitat designed to support up to 24 adult rodents or four adult squirrel monkeys, has flown on a number of Space Shuttle missions to support various studies. (Excerpt from Life into Space 1991-1998) (Posted on 01/01)

Still Images

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Animal Enclosure Module
Source: NASA
Format: JPEG
Description: This photograph shows the Animal Enclosure Module, a habitat for rodents in microgravity.

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CELSS Space Operations
Source: NASA
Format: JPEG
Description: This picture shows an artist's conception of a future closed-system life support operation.

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Rats in the Animal Enclosure Module
Source: NASA
Format: JPEG
Description: This image shows experiment subjects in the Animal Enclosure Module, a habitat for rodents in microgravity.

View the image (192 kb)
Research Animal Holding Facility
Source: NASA
Format: JPEG
Description: This photograph shows the Research Animal Holding Facility, a habitat for rodents in microgravity.

Links

Follow these links to explore related sites in a new window

Advanced Life Support
This site details Advanced Life Support research at the Johnson Space Center.

Advanced Human Support Technology Program (AHST)
This page overviews NASA's AHST Program, which includes the Advanced Life Support project.

Space Shuttle Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS)
A detailed description of the Space Shuttle ECLSS and its subsystems.

Space Shuttle Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU)
This reading offers a good description of the Spacesuit used by Space Shuttle astronauts.