Source
https://webs.uab.cat/melissapilotplant/wp-content/uploads/sites/397/2023/11/Melissa_The_European_project_of_a_closed_life_supp-1.pdf — original source (opens in a new tab; the file is not redistributed)
Summary
ESA’s MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) project, initiated 1988 and reported after 20 years of R&D: a five-compartment closed biological loop that produces food, water, and oxygen entirely from crew organic waste (urine, CO₂, solid waste), with no external resupply. Compartments: (C1) thermophilic anaerobic bacteria — waste liquefaction and degradation; (C2) photoheterotrophic bacteria (Rhodospirillum rubrum); (C3) nitrifying bacteria; (C4a) cyanobacteria (Arthrospira); (C4b) Higher Plant Compartment (food + CO₂ fixation + O₂ + potable water); (C5) crew. Pilot plant inaugurated 2009 at Autonomous University of Barcelona. LIT_019
After 20 years, the project demonstrated that: (1) a closed biological loop is operative even with living organisms; (2) the approach is generic and applicable to different closed-loop configurations; (3) the six essential elements (C, H, N, O, P, S) can be tracked and recycled at steady state.
Thesis angle: MELiSSA and remote community self-sufficiency share the same fundamental engineering challenge — closing the resource loop when resupply is difficult or impossible. Closing a biological loop on Mars requires more stringent self-sufficiency than any remote terrestrial community; the proven feasibility of MELiSSA implies the conceptual and technical underpinnings are available for terrestrial adaptation. A cited reference within this paper — Hendrickx & Mergeay (2007) “From the deep sea to the stars: human life support through minimal communities” — explicitly bridges this to the minimal community context ([RT_072]).
NZ applicability note: No quantitative figures transfer directly. All numbers relate to space-mission mass balance and efficiency under microgravity/radiation constraints.
Key claims
- MELiSSA five-compartment closed biological loop: thermophilic anaerobic degradation (C1, >90% waste degradation efficiency) → photoheterotrophic bacteria (C2) → nitrifying bacteria (C3) → cyanobacteria (C4a) + Higher Plant Compartment (C4b); converts all crew organic waste into food, potable water, and oxygen with zero external input — proven operative at bench and pilot scale after 20 years of ESA R&D. LIT_019
- Higher Plant Compartment (HPC): single controlled-environment biological system achieving food production, CO₂ fixation, O₂ generation, and potable water production simultaneously — four basic life-support outputs from one integrated biological sub-system. LIT_019
- Waste compartment (C1): thermophilic anaerobic biodegradation achieves >90% organic waste degradation efficiency; the six essential elements (C, H, N, O, P, S) are tracked and recycled at steady state in the complete loop. LIT_019
- After 20 years, MELiSSA is confirmed operative, generic, and applicable to “all kinds of unit operations (both physico-chemical and biological)” — the closed biological loop architecture is not limited to space applications. LIT_019
- The same fundamental challenge — closing the resource loop when resupply is impossible — applies to both long-duration space missions and remote terrestrial communities; MELiSSA’s feasibility proof is therefore directly relevant to the space-to-earth technology transfer argument for remote community design. LIT_019
Research targets
Documents to retrieve
- RT_072 — Hendrickx L & Mergeay M (2007) “From the deep sea to the stars: human life support through minimal communities” — Curr Opin Microbiol 10(3), p231-7 — cited in LIT_019; explicitly bridges MELiSSA closed-loop systems to minimal communities; may provide the space-to-earth technology transfer argument directly
Research gaps
(None identified.)
Connections
Referenced by
EDT domains (2): D03: Water, Waste & Circular Systems · D08: Biotechnology & Nature-Based Solutions