Atmosphere Trace Gas Contamination Management for the Columbus Pressurized Modules

The COLUMBUS pressurized modules APM and PM2 are designed for a useful lifetime of 30 years. The APM, which forms part of the International Space Station, will be permanently manned with a 3-men-crew. The PM2, which is the pressurized module of the Men-Tended-Free-Flyer (MTFF) will be manned for the servicing period of 10 days followed by a 180-day unmanned period.

In order to protect the crew from contamination by hazardous substances, which may be present in the cabin air, effective contamination management is required. This consists of a contamination monitoring system to detect and measure trace gases in the cabin atmosphere, and a contamination control system to be able to maintain the concentration of each potential contaminant below the maximum allowable concentration. For both systems, considerable development work has to be performed due to the great variety of compounds and the wide range of concentrations to be expected and due to the demanding requirements of space application.