抄録
After the completion of the International Space Station (ISS) program, the main focus of human space activities will shift from low-Earth orbit to the Moon. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) considers a possible future international manned lunar base as a place where Japan could fully utilize and further develop its capabilities for human space activity. For brief visits, a lunar base requires only stored oxygen and water, but a permanent base must recycle oxygen and water to reduce transportation costs. In a study for a lunar base, we developed elements of an oxygen and water recycling system. Carbon dioxide exhaled by astronauts can be separated from the atmosphere and concentrated with zeolite. A gaseous mixture of carbon dioxide and hydrogen is supplied to one side of a Sabatier reactor, in which it is heated and reacts to form water and methane. The water produced is then split into hydrogen and oxygen by an electrolysis cell. Our cell directly electrolyzes vapor generated by the Sabatier reaction, and can be connecting directly to a Sabatier reactor without a condensation module. This paper describes test results of elements of the oxygen and water recycling system and gives test results of the oxygen and hydrogen production system. Studies such as these are also expected to contribute technologies for a more sustainable society on earth.
