Bioregeneration
Plant-based CO2 sequestration and oxygen production, water filtration, and food production are at the core of research at SAM, the very reason the facility was designed and constructed. Hydroponic food production is a controlled, high-yield, small-footprint means to produce quality food cultivars by means of mostly automated systems. What’s more, the right combination of selected cultivars can provide nutrients, calories, and a plant-based means to sequester carbon dioxide and produce oxygen for the human crew, augmenting or fully replacing physico-chemical CO2 sequestration.
Former SAM team member and graduate of the University of Arizona Atila Meszaros, MSc conducted three phases of research into bioregeneration during his studies (2023-2026):
- A base-line for CO2 production by humans.
- CO2 sequestration by a specific food cultivar.
- An integration of phases I and II with a single human sustained inside a hermetically sealed facility with one or more species of food cultivars.
CO2 Sequestration
Every human occupied space craft, from Mercury to Apollo to ISS has relied upon machine-based (physicochemical) removal of carbon dioxide and overall air quality management. SAM has to date operated principally in Mode 2—pressurized/pass-through. With the addition of a dedicated CO2 scrubber research facility, now under construction, physicochemical and bioreactor scrubbers will be tested in both controlled environment and human in-the-loop studies.
The ultimate goal of SAM was to demonstrate the transition from machine- to plant-based CO2 sequestration in the course of a single, long-duration analog mission. For the very first sealed experiment, July 2021, the SAM team operated a refurbished CO2 scrubber provided by Paragon Space Development Corporation. In 2021-22 a NASA-funded UA Capstone engineering team developed a functional prototype of a four-bed CO2 scrubber. In 2026 SAM completed design, fabrication, and installation of a four-bed CO2 scrubber based on a NASA technology license, essentially a functional, terrestrial copy of the unit that operates on the International Space Station today.
Space Medicine
The further we move from the relatively safety of our home planet, well beyond low-Earth orbit or even lunar habitation, the more we must rely upon crew skills, equipment, and procedures for medical procedures beyond the administration of drugs or relatively non-invasive interventions. The SAM team developed a mathematical formula that describes the capacity of a given medical bay against the independent variables: severity of the injury, skill and experience of the crew, capability of the medical bay, and distance from Earth. Furthermore, the SAM team is designing and fabricating a full-featured, fully-capable surgical bay inside of the SAM Test Module for the purpose of demonstration and training. Development of the MedBay continues …
Human Exploration of Mars
While much of the overland exploration of Mars will surely continue to be conducted by rovers and drones, it is inevitable that humans will venture down crater rims, across ancient lake beds, and into lava tubes to explore the red planet on foot. As sailing vessels have lifeboats, rovers and pressure suits will have emergency shelters, deployed to keep an astronaut alive until help does arrive. What’s more, we believe it will be possible to backpack on Mars.
As SAM, team members have already developed a functional prototype of a pressurized emergency shelter and tent, and demonstrated the ability for a suited astronaut to transition from pressure suit to pressure tent, then await rescue.