After 6 intense years of work, the engineers of our German subsidiary 'GTD GmbH' have seen their efforts culminate with the launch of ' PHOTOBIOREACTOR' from Falcon X on the CRS-17 resupply mission to the ISS. The experiment will be installed aboard the ISS on May 6, and on May 7, we will support Airbus DS for the first data download from the experiment. The goal of ' PHOTOBIOREACTOR' is to demonstrate that microalgae can be used with existing systems to improve resource recycling and create a hybrid life support system. Our client, AIRBUS DS, is the prime contractor for the mission on behalf of the DLR. The scientific component was carried out by the University of Stuttgart. PHOTOBIOREACTOR is designed to convert some of the CO2 extracted by the ISS's Life Support Rack into oxygen and biomass, which could help save valuable resources during future long-term space missions. Future human research missions are expected to take astronauts to the Moon and Mars. A decisive factor for the success of these missions will be keeping resources to a minimum. Since it is difficult and expensive to send new supplies from Earth, the greatest possible closure of the respective resource cycles of water, oxygen, and food is of vital importance. Most wastewater is already transformed into freshwater on the International Space Station. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Life Support Rack (LSR) has been on the ISS since October 2018. The rack, built by Airbus and formerly known as ACLS (Advanced Closed Loop System), collects the carbon dioxide (CO2) exhaled by astronauts and uses a Sabatier process to convert it back into oxygen through electrolysis. The ISS PBR@LSR experiment is a technology demonstration designed to convert CO2 into oxygen and biomass. To achieve this, the plant breeder's right will be connected to the LSR physicochemical system (hybrid method) and will operate for up to 180 days, during which the stability and performance of the system and the algae culture will be recorded and evaluated. The electronics and software of the equipment were produced by GTD GmbH for Airbus.
