Bioregenerative

life support system A life-support system is the combination of equipment that allows survival in an environment or situation that would not support that life in its absence. It is generally applied to systems supporting human life in situations where the outside ...

s (BLSS) are artificial ecosystems consisting of many complex symbiotic relationships among higher plants,

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Biology, biological Kingdom (biology), kingdom Animalia (). With few exceptions, animals heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, ...

s, and

microorganisms A microorganism, or microbe, is an organism of microscopic size, which may exist in its single-celled form or as a colony of cells. The possible existence of unseen microbial life was suspected from antiquity, with an early attestation in ...

. As the most advanced

life support Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform bas ...

technology, BLSS can provide a habitation environment similar to Earth's

biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...

for space missions with extended durations, in deep space, and with multiple crews. These systems consist of artificial ecosystems into which plants and microorganisms that allow oxygen production, carbon dioxide fixation of carbon, water purification, waste recycling, and production of foods. In these systems, photosynthetic organisms would be used as plants and algae that provide biomass for food and oxygen, as well as microorganisms that degrade and recycle waste compounds generated by human activity, as well as unused plant debris in food.

References

Space research {{space-stub

See also

References