Gros J B, Poughon L, Lasseur C, Tikhomirov A A
Laboratoire de Genie Chimique et Biochimique, Universite B. Pascal, Aubiere cedex, France.
Adv Space Res. 2003;31(1):195-9. doi: 10.1016/s0273-1177(02)00739-1.
MELiSSA is a microorganism based artificial ecosystem conceived as a tool for understanding the behavior of ecosystems and developing the technology for future Manned Space Missions. MELiSSA is composed of four compartments colonized by the microorganisms required by the function of this ecosystem : breakdown of waste produced by men, regeneration of atmosphere and biosynthesis of edible biomass. This paper reports the mass balance description of a Biological Life Support System composed of the MELiSSA loop and of a Higher Plant Compartment working in parallel with the photosynthetic Spirulina compartment producing edible biomass. The recycling efficiencies of the system are determined and compared for various working conditions of the MELiSSA loop with or without the HPC.
