“At present, the six systems are in stable operation, with 100 percent of the oxygen resources regenerated and 95 percent of the water resources recycled,” said Bian Qiang, director of the environmental control and life-support engineering office under the Astronaut Center of China.
“This reduces the amount of supplies from the ground by six tonnes every year,” added Bian.
The revelation marks a significant advancement in China’s manned spacecraft’s environmental control and life-support systems, moving from “replenishment” to “regeneration.”
The system has six subsystems for various operations, such as the creation of oxygen, the removal of carbon dioxide, and the creation of water from carbon dioxide and hydrogen.
China’s Tiangong Space Station advances
Bian claims that the system’s technology is among the greatest in the world, and as a result, the requirement for ground supplies is reduced by six tonnes annually.
For China’s manned spacecraft, including the Shenzhou spacecraft, extra-vehicular spacesuits, and the three-module space station complex, experts have successfully created three generations of environmental control and life-support systems, according to Bian.
The meeting received a video greeting from the Shenzhou-15 crew, which is presently in Earth orbit, reported CGTN, China’s state-affiliated media.
