Dr. James Chartres
The COSMOS magazine article Self-sufficient space habitat designed said
Australian-led scientists have designed a new space habitat that might one day allow astronauts on the Moon or Mars to be 90 to 95 per cent self-sufficient.
The development of such as system could save billions of dollars in shuttle trips to re-supply lunar or space colonies and brings closer the vision of a human habitat on Mars.
The technology could also have applications on Earth to develop more sustainable farming techniques and improve recycling processes.
Some systems to recycle water and air have already been developed and rudimentary versions are presently used in the International Space Station (ISS). However, the proposed new lunar habitat “combines our existing knowledge” of physical, chemical and biological processes to provide an “overall picture of how a minibiosphere would work”, said James Chartres, an aerospace engineer at the University of Adelaide in South Australia. He gave a talk detailing the design at the Australian Space Science Conference held in Sydney last month.
James Chartres, Ph.D. was born in Adelaide, Australia and was
interested in
space flight and engineering from a young age. In 2004 he obtained a
Bachelor of Engineering in Mechatronics from the School of Mechanical
Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
In 2007 James
earned his Ph.D. in Aerospace Engineering also from The
University of Adelaide with the thesis
Trajectory Design, Optimization and
Guidance for Reusable Launch Vehicles During the Terminal Area Flight
Phase. From 2005 to 2006 he was a guest researcher at the
Institut
für Raumfahrtsysteme, Universität Stuttgart, Germany where most of
his PhD research was conducted.
He has also conducted research on advanced life support systems and
habitats for the Moon and Mars. Including a joint study between the
National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the
International Space University (ISU) for the establishment of a long
duration Lunar Habitat.
James has instructed university courses and workshops on
Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) and Extra-
Vehicular Activity (EVA) Systems.
James has presented his work at both national and international
conferences. He has also been a guest speaker at the NASA Ames
Research Center, the American Institute for Aeronautics and
Astronautics (AIAA) Adelaide Section and the School of Mechanical
Engineering, The University of Adelaide, Australia.
Read
Optimization of the Terminal Flight Phase for a Future Reusable
Launch
Vehicle and
Requirements for Mars Suit Design.