Manmade closed ecological systems PDF
Preview Manmade closed ecological systems
Cover Page i Manmade Closed Ecological Systems Page ii Earth Space Institute Book Series Editorinchief: Dr Peter Kleber Chairman, Earth Space Institute Section editors: John Greenleaf NASA Ames Research Center Moffet Field, USA (Life Sciences) WenRui Hu CAS Beijing, China (Chinese Space Science) Rodolfo Monti University of Naples, Italy (Fluid Sciences), and Peter R.Sahm RWTH Aachen, Germany (Materials Sciences) The Earth Space Institute Book Series covers different aspects of the future of space. These books aim to show how space has become a new tool in further developments for the benefit of mankind. In this context, space can now be considered as part of the human experience. Each volume in the series will be devoted to selected topics in engineering, legal and financial issues, and spacebased sciences (extraterrestrial, earth observation, life sciences, materials science) intended for students, researchers and space professionals. The series will also feature historical and general overviews of interest to the public. Volume 1 Space Science in China Edited by WenRui Hu Volume 2 Der Mensch im Kosmos Edited by Peter R.Sahm and Gerhard Thiele Volume 3 Multiple Gravity Assist Interplanetary Trajectories By Alexei V.Lubunsky, Oleg V.Papkov and Kostantin G.Sukhanov Volume 4 Large Space Structures Formed by Centrifugal Forces By V.M.Melnikov and V.A.Koshelev Volume 5 East Asian Archaeoastronomy: Historical Records of Astronomical Observations of China, Japan and Korea By Zhentao Xu, Yaotiao Jiang and David W.Pankenier Volume 6 Space Debris: Hazard Evaluation and Mitigation Edited by Nickolay N.Smirnov Volume 7 Physics of Fluids in Microgravity Edited by Rodolfo Monti Volume 8 Space Radio Science By Oleg I.Yakovlev Volume 9 Manmade Closed Ecological Systems By I.I.Gitelson, G.M.Lisovsky and R.D.MacElroy Page iii Manmade Closed Ecological Systems I.I.Gitelson, G.M.Lisovsky Institute of Biophysics of the Russian Academy of Science, Krasnoyarsk, Russia and R.D.MacElroy NASA Ames Research Center, USA LONDON AND NEW YORK Page iv In memory of: Sergey Pavlovich Korolev, the father of Soviet cosmonautics, whose vigorous and timely support of the Bios project made its realization possible in Krasnoyarsk, and Leonid Vasilyevich Kirensky and Ivan Aleksandrovich Terskov, founders of the Institute of Physics and Institute of Biophysics in Krasnoyarsk. First published 2003 by Taylor & Francis 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Taylor & Francis Inc, 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 Taylor & Francis is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group This edition published in the Taylor & Francis eLibrary, 2004. © 2003 Taylor & Francis Publisher’s note: This book was prepared from camerareadycopy supplied by the authors. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Every effort has been made to ensure that the advice and information in this book is true and accurate at the time of going to press. However, neither the publisher nor the authors can accept any legal responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions that may be made. In the case of drug administration, any medical procedure or the use of technical equipment mentioned within this book, you are strongly advised to consult the manufacturer’s guidelines. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalog record for this title has been requested ISBN 0203222792 Master ebook ISBN ISBN 0203297938 (OEB Format) ISBN 0415299985 (Print Edition) Page v Contents Foreword vii Acknowledgements xi Introduction. Experimental Modeling of the Biosphere and Noosphere 1 Chapter 1. The Earth’s Biosphere as a Closed Ecosystem 11 Chapter 2. Manmade Closed Ecosystems and the Methodology of their Creation 21 Chapter 3. Creation of Manmade Closed Ecosystems for Human Life Support: History of Development 33 3.1 In the USA 33 3.2 In Russia 52 3.3 In Europe 55 3.4 In Japan 58 Chapter 4. The Human Component in a Closed Life Support System 63 Chapter 5. Possible Components of a Closed Human Life Support Ecosystem 73 5.1 Various methods for biologically regenerating the human habitat 73 5.2 Physicochemical processes necessary for maintaining system closure 87 Chapter 6. Principles of Controlled Continuous Cultivation of Microalgae 91 6.1 Continuous cultivation of microalgae 92 6.2 Mathematical model of algal culture growth 95 6.3 Optical properties of a suspension of microalgae and the light regime used in their cultivation 112 6.4 Design of an algal cultivator 118 6.5 Developing a nutritive medium for the continuous algal culture 130 6.6 Controlling biochemical composition of microalgae 137 6.7 The sustainability and reliability of continuous cultivation of algae for biological life support systems 140 Chapter 7. Controlled Continuous Cultivation of Higher Plants 149 7.1 Selecting plant species and cultivars to regenerate the habitat 149 7.2 Perspectives for perfecting plant selection for the higher plant link 155 7.3 Light and temperature regimes for cultivating plants in manmade conditions 160 Page vi 7.4 Continuous cultivation of higher plants 179 7.5 Gas and water exchange, nutrient media for plants 186 7.6 Plants grown under artificial conditions: evaluation of productivity and quality of biomass 195 Chapter 8. Bios1 and Bios2 Experimental Facilities 203 8.1 Twolink ecological life support system “humanmicroalgae” 203 8.2 Threelink system in Bios2 “humanmicroalgaehigher plants” 220 8.3 Bios2 fourlink system “humanmicroalgaehigher plantsmicrobial cultivator” 223 Chapter 9. Experiments Testing Prolonged Human Life in the Bios3 Life Support System 231 9.1 Experimental complex Bios3 231 9.2 Experiments testing prolonged human life support in the Bios3 system 244 9.3 Fourmonth experiment in Bios3 with humans and higher plants, involving incineration of inedible plant biomass 280 9.4 Fivemonth experiment in the life support system for two humans. Investigation of the feasibility of full regeneration of vegetable food 297 and immediate utilization of human liquid wastes by plants Chapter 10. Microbial Life in a Closed Ecosystem 311 10.1 Microflora of the microalgal cultivator 312 10.2 Microbiological oxidation of organic wastes in a closed ecological system 319 10.3 Microflora of the higher plant link in the closed ecosystem 323 Chapter 11. Theoretical Analysis of Closed Ecological Systems 329 Conclusion. Creation of Closed Ecological Systems: Results, Problems and Prospects 355 References 369 Subject Index 399 Page vii FOREWORD During the early twentieth century, rocket science was being developed by the Russian Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, the American Robert Hutchings Goddard, and the German Hermann Oberth, leading to dreams of space travel by both scientists and the public at large. Advances after World War II made it possible for space travel to be achieved, and at the height of the cold war near the end of the 1950s, the Soviet Union and the United States were engaged in a race to put an artificial satellite into orbit around the Earth. The Soviets achieved this goal on October 4, 1957 when they launched the 83.6kg satellite called Sputnik 1. This spectacular success was followed a month later by the launch of Sputnik 2, which carried the dog Laika, the first living creature to be shot into space and orbit the Earth. The success of the Sputniks galvanized the United States into a frenzy of effort to achieve equally spectacular goals. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) was established in 1958, but the Soviets continued to lead as they were the first to launch a space craft, Luna 1, free of Earth’s gravity, and the first to pioneer manned Earthorbital flight when Yury Gagarin circled the Earth in April 1961. Nevertheless, on July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin set foot on the Moon, strengthening the dreams of a humanoccupied lunar colony, dreams that had so often been fortified by wonderful works of science fiction. Such dreams—and the similar dreams of prolonged space flight to Mars or other distant places—always included the challenge of human survival away from the amenities of mother Earth. One obvious answer was to “take a bunch of sack lunches,” and so far, this has been the approach to manned space travel: carry enough food, water, oxygen, and other needed supplies to last the duration of the planned trip. A second answer is to recycle these supplies to reduce the load that must be carried at launch. The possibility of recycling was apparent to the early rocket scientists, and it was also apparent that, in addition to physicochemical means of recycling, we might use algae or higher plants to remove atmospheric carbon dioxide and release oxygen in the process of photosynthesis, also producing food and, in the case of higher plants, transpiring water vapor that could be condensed and utilized. The possibilities of developing bioregenerative life support systems were apparent to both the Soviets and the Americans. In the United States, some scientists in the U.S. Air Force, various Universities, and the Aerospace Industry carried out some preliminary studies on how algae or higher plants might be used in such systems. Beginning in 1960, I had one of a series of NASAsupported projects to study plant life under extreme environmental conditions and to consider the use of higher plants in bioregenerative life support systems. By the end of the 1960s, however, NASA had lost interest in life support projects although I continued to study active plant life under the snow and related matters. Interest in bioregenerative life support would not be revived by NASA until the late 1970s. Page viii Meanwhile, beginning in the early 1960s and continuing to the present, Russian scientists were studying bioregenerative life support, principally in Moscow and in Krasnoyarsk, which is located in Siberia. Because of the cold war, we in the United States, Europe, and Japan were unaware of the work in the Soviet Union until the mid1980s when we began to hear tantalizing rumors about the things that had been done in Krasnoyarsk. The prime movers were Leonid Vasilyevich Kirensky and Ivan Aleksandrovich Terskov, both now deceased, but losef I. Gitelson, this book’s senior author, was a member of the group that initiated the studies. Genry M.Lisovsky joined the group early in its history and has worked closely with Professor Gitelson for many years. The third author, Robert D. MacElroy, who is at the NASA Ames Research Center in California, administered the funding for university and other research on bioregenerative life support beginning in the early 1980s. Dr. MacElroy made it possible for Prof. Gitelson to spend many months at NASA Ames, where this book was prepared. Thus the authors are particularly well qualified to write this book. Dr. MacElroy acknowledges that his contribution was relatively minor so the book is largely a summary of the work done in the Soviet Union (and now Russia), especially during those coldwar years when we in the West were unaware of the Soviet efforts— and ourselves largely inactive in the field. Prof. Gitelson, with the help of Dr. Lisovsky and his other colleagues in Krasnoyarsk, summarizes in wonderful detail the work done there. Clearly, the book could hardly have been written by anyone else! For us in the West, it is extremely important that the Soviet work be made part of the record, part of the history of Soviet efforts during the cold war and part of the record of thought about closed ecological systems, especially those that might be used in space exploration. Prof. Gitelson also summarizes some of the work done in Moscow where results were kept largely secret during much of the cold war and have still not been made widely available. In working with a group at the Institute of Biomedical Problems in Moscow to grow wheat in the Russian Space Station Mir, I was often amazed as members of this group told me about what they had done with life support systems, also beginning in the early 1960s. Prof. Gitelson is probably more aware of this work than anyone outside of the Moscow group; hence, his summary in this book is highly valuable. Although these Russians had a commanding lead in life support research, there are now various groups in Europe, Japan, and the United States who are fast catching up. Thus, this book should be of great value to them. In 1992, I visited for the third time the Bios3 facility in Krasnoyarsk to prepare a report for the Johnson Space Center, where they were in the initial stages of planning a similar facility. This report was expanded into an article coauthored by Prof. Gitelson and Dr. Lisovsky, so I thought I knew nearly all there was to know about Bios3. What a surprise it was to read this book and to learn that what I knew barely scratched the surface of the extensive and detailed work that had been done by this group. If the current teams are to have as much success as the Krasnoyarsk researchers had, they will have to consider the problems at the same level of detail and intensity. Reading this book before such an undertaking could save much of this effort, which would allow the researchers to apply their creative talents to application of technologies that have developed since Bios3 was built in 1972. Page ix Researchers in the field are not the only ones who will find valuable material in this book. There are many students who hope to enter the field of bioregenerative life support, and for them this book should be required reading. Furthermore, the Krasnoyarsk researchers discovered that their work had much broader application than life support for space travel. The Earth’s biosphere is a system closed with respect to matter and open with respect to energy—just as is an ideal bioregenerative life support system for space travel. For that matter, small closed systems might be used in polar, desert, or other climates. In any case, wherever they are studied and used, they can help us to understand the much larger biosphere of the Earth. The authors of this book are well aware of these implications of their work, and they discuss them in some detail. In reading this book, I was highly impressed with the quality of Soviet science during the cold war. This book provides many insights into the creative perception, attention to detail, and deep knowledge of biology, agronomy, chemistry, physics, and engineering that the Krasnoyarsk researchers were able to apply in their design and construction of closed life support systems. Although these scientists were essentially isolated from the rest of the world, they managed to remain on the cutting edge of many branches of both science and engineering. Indeed, we have yet to catch up with all of what they accomplished with Bios3. It makes some of us feel like beginners in the field. There are many examples, but one that I especially noted (because I had worked in a related field) was their perception of the human biological clock; they were aware of its intricacies even while much of the current knowledge was being developed in the West. I would like to comment on how the various chapters impressed me: I greatly enjoyed the Introduction and the first five chapters, which review some history and discuss some general problems of life support. Then I encountered Chapter 6 on Principles of Controlled Cultivation of Microalgae. Because of the mathematics, I suppose, I found this chapter to be very rough going. At the same time, it provides excellent insight into the depth of analysis achieved by the Soviet researchers. It is essential reading for anyone interested in use of algae in life support, but others may want to skim this chapter and move on. Chapter 8 describes the use of microalgae in the early Krasnoyarsk efforts to achieve bioregenerative life support. Having never been much interested in the use of algae, I expected to encounter equally difficult going through that section. I was most pleasantly surprised to find myself fascinated by the descriptions of how algae had been used in the early Bios facilities. I even became convinced that microalgal systems might still have some application in life support for space travel—and perhaps other uses. I expected to enjoy Chapter 7 on the use of higher plants, which was my own research field, and I was not disappointed. As with the algal studies, I was deeply impressed with the level of detail that the Krasnoyarsk scientists had reached as they prepared for and then used agricultural crops in their systems. (The use of chufa, not currently a crop anywhere in the world, is a unique and valuable contribution to life support studies.) Chapter 9 examines in detail the three trials with human occupants in Bios3. This is where the depth of the Krasnoyarsk studies is most apparent. Chapter 10 discusses the role of microbial life in bioregenerative systems. As with algae, I had little interest in the topic—until I read the chapter! The discussion
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