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Establishment of a closed artificial ecosystem to ensure human long-term survival on the moon

Yuming Fu, Zhihao Yi, Yao Du, Hui Liu, Beizhen Xie, Hong Liu
doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.426282
Yuming Fu
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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Zhihao Yi
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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Yao Du
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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Hui Liu
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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Beizhen Xie
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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Hong Liu
aBeijing Advanced Innovation Centre for Biomedical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
bSchool of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing, 100083, China
cInternational Joint Research Center of Aerospace Biotechnology & Medical Engineering, Beihang University, Beijing 100083, China
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  • For correspondence: LH64@buaa.edu.cn
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Abstract

Bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) is a critical technology maintaining long-term human survival on the Moon or other extraterrestrial bodies. In the current study, we carried out a 370-day integrated high-closure experiment (“Lunar Palace 365” experiment) on the Earth in an upgraded ground-based BLSS experimental facility called “Lunar Palace 1”. This experiment was designed to develop techniques to run and adjust system stability under long-term operation and crew shift change conditions. Eight volunteering crew members were divided into two groups with three time phases: Group I stayed in the cabin for the initial 60-day phase; Group II inhabited the cabin instead for a record-breaking duration of 200 days as the second phase; Group I re-entered the cabin, replaced Group II and stayed for the last 105 days. Our results demonstrated the BLSS had excellent stability with a material closure degree of 98.2%. Levels of O2, CO2 and trace harmful gases were well controlled within ranges optimal for crew health and plant production. The system exhibited a strong robustness and could quickly minimize effects of disturbances through self-feedback adjustments. The efficiency of plant production completely met the crew’s need of plant-based food. The purification efficiency of domestic and sanitary wastewater was up to irrigation standards, and the recovery rate of urine and solid waste achieved 99.7% and 67%, respectively. These results are valuable for further optimization of the BLSS in a lunar base and computer simulations of similar systems.

Competing Interest Statement

The authors have declared no competing interest.

Copyright 
The copyright holder for this preprint is the author/funder, who has granted bioRxiv a license to display the preprint in perpetuity. It is made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 International license.
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Posted January 14, 2021.
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Establishment of a closed artificial ecosystem to ensure human long-term survival on the moon
Yuming Fu, Zhihao Yi, Yao Du, Hui Liu, Beizhen Xie, Hong Liu
bioRxiv 2021.01.12.426282; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.426282
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Establishment of a closed artificial ecosystem to ensure human long-term survival on the moon
Yuming Fu, Zhihao Yi, Yao Du, Hui Liu, Beizhen Xie, Hong Liu
bioRxiv 2021.01.12.426282; doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.01.12.426282

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