Equivalent System Mass Studies of Missions and Concepts

This paper applies an equivalent system mass (ESM) approach to life support (LS) for a number of mission scenarios, including a manned Mars mission, ISS, and closed chamber tests on the ground. Supply, physicochemical- (PC) and bioregeneration, and in situ resource utilization (ISRU) have been considered. Credible mass equivalencies are derived for a number of missions, and resulting distributions of ESM among the various subsystems are identified for different mission assumptions. Preliminary recommendations are made for cost-effective hybrid scenarios using the four approaches identified above.