Publications

The International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES) in Prague offered a great platform to showcase recent achievements in SIMOC and SAM. Griffin Hentzen presented a paper written by Dr. James Knox, NASA veteran, who with the SAM team is designing an advanced CO2 scrubber for integration into the new SAM Experimental Air Revitalization Laborator (EARL), currently in construction. This scrubber will close the air quality management loop in the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) of SAM, further increasing mission fidelity during analog inclusions.

Griffin also presented a paper on behalf of Dr. Cameron Smith on the first prototype of a portable, pressurized, emergency shelter for deployment on Mars.

SAM has since the spring of 2024 been working with the Technical University of Munich (TUM), Germany, under Dr. Gisela Detrell, where graduate student Fabio Schäfer is designing a large scale photobioreactor to be installed in the new SAM EARL facility. Fabio presented a poster on how this system will support future bioregenerative atmosphere revitalization research. This project is the first to implement a photobioreactor (algae-based CO2 sequestration) of this scale in an analog facility, opening a multitude of opportunities and research questions to be studied at SAM.

Also from TUM, Lucien Volk shared his progress on a photobioreactor simulation model built in SIMOC. The capability to simulate realistic photobioreactor behavior is important to design robust hybrid and bioregenerative life support systems for future missions to space. This previous article shares details about his work.

As always, ICES was a great opportunity for the SIMOC-SAM and TUM working groups to gather and connect with the greater ECLSS community.

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …

by Meridith Greythorne and Kai Staats
for the National Science Teachers Association (NSTA)

Abstract
The Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-World Community (SIMOC) is a computer simulation of a human habitat on Mars. Built upon decades of NASA research and authentic science processes, SIMOC is both a research-grade simulation and an engaging web-based tool for science education. Users access an intuitive web interface to select mission duration, inhabitants and life support modules, crew quarters and greenhouse sizes, food rations and cultivar seeds, and energy production and storage systems.

SIMOC engages citizen scientists and learners of all ages in the design of long-duration other-world habitats (with an emphasis on Mars), where the balance between mechanical and plant-based life support will be crucial. For the past three years, SIMOC has enjoyed expanding engagement in virtual and physical classrooms, available for free via the National Geographic Education resource library or local installation.

Using a Next Generation Science Standards-aligned curriculum, educators have explored creative applications of SIMOC, from single class time simulations to Mars habitats built from cardboard boxes with live carbon dioxide sensors; from essays on the challenges of human space exploration to full semester design and fabrication of habitats complete with student-built mock-ups in miniature.

Read the full article …

The SIMOC team presented three papers at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July July 21-25, 2024, Louisville, Kentucky

Model and Design of a Fully Integrated Bioregenerative Life Support System using an Agent-based Model of a Physico-chemical and Bioregenerative ECLSS

by Sean Gellenbeck with Joel Cuello, Barry Pryor, Chuck Gerba, and Kai Staats; ICES 2024, Louisville, Kentucky

“This [is] the third part of this research project following that discussed in ICES-2023-274. This is the complete modeling and design of a FI-BLSS. Initial experiments were conducted to inform and validate a tool called Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-world Community (SIMOC) designed to use agent-based modeling to analyze habitat life support systems. Following these experiments, a full system design was developed using SIMOC.”

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …

The SIMOC team presented three papers at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July 16-20, 2023, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

Ecosystem Modeling and Validation using Empirical Data from NASA CELSS and Biosphere 2
by Grant Hawkins, Ezio Melotti, Kai Staats, Atila Meszaros, and Gene Giacomelli

“In this study, we extend the Scalable, Interactive Model of an Off-world Community (SIMOC) with a highly generic plant growth model that incorporates 22 different plant species and validate it against two high-profile and dissimilar experiments: NASA’s Controlled Ecological Life Support System and the Biosphere 2 Intensive Agricultural Biome.”

Integrating Real-Time Environmental Data into an Educational Web Interface
by Meridith Greythorne with Gregory Ross, Ian Castellanos, Grant Hawkins, Ezio Melotti, Ryan Meneses, Kai Staats, and Gretchen Hollingsworth

“The integration of real-world data into SIMOC offers new and exciting opportunities for students to connect with concepts of interplanetary travel and habitats. This paper details the components integrated into SIMOC such that current and future classrooms may perform hands-on experimentation through use of in-classroom sensor arrays, and describes in-depth a classroom experience implementing this system with local sensors.”

Integration and Validation of Mushroom and Algae into an Agent-based Model of a Physico-chemical and Bioregenerative ECLSS
by Sean Gellenbeck with Joel Cuello, Barry Pryor, Chuck Gerba, and Kai Staats

“The project sought to integrate mushroom and aquaculture subsystems to provide additional sources of edible biomass (especially proteins) with focus placed on maximizing the remediation and recycling of inedible biomass … Mushrooms and algae were modeled and validated through a series of experiments. These experiments examined the two cultures individually to inform SIMOC which was then used to design a combined system to provide validation.”

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …

The SIMOC team presented two papers at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July 10-14, 2022, Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Integrating Mushrooms into an Agent-based Model of a Physico-chemical and Bioregenerative ECLSS
by Sean Gellenbeck with Joel Cuello, Kai Staats, Ezio Melotti, and Grant Hawkins

“To design a stable and integrated bioregenerative life support system for long-duration, off-world missions, several biological subsystems will need to be included in the initial trade study and modeling effort. One such proposed subsystem is mushrooms.”

Responses to Elevated CO2 on Food Production and Life Support Systems in a Mars Habitat
by Grant Hawkins with Ezio Melotti, and Kai Staats

“A species-specific model of responses to ambient CO2 on plant CO2 absorption, transpiration and biomass production is integrated into SIMOC [ICES 2019, 2021], an agent-based model for high-fidelity ECLSS and bioregenerative simulations.”

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …

Thomas Lagarde, Ingénieur système pour habitats dans les environnements extrèmes (System engineer for extreme environment habitats) has developed a Grasshopper code base that imports the results of a SIMOC simulation, then generates a 3D Mars base that corresponds to the parameters configured by the SIMOC user.

As presented at IAC 2021, Thomas developed this unique project to demonstrate the possibility of using existing solutions and concepts developed and used for earth applications as a design architecture for outer-space habitats. The future habitats/cities will need to evolve constantly, fixing a form, a system or a program is not the solution to adapt to an environment that we will learn a lot from when we get there. The design for a habitat and its systems will require constant modifications to adapt to changes in the environment, our knowledge of it and/or our reaction to it. Interior and exterior organizations will certainly change rapidly depending on new requirements. To produce an optimal design at a fast pace and correctly we need to use computational techniques such as parametric design or topology optimization. The new design solution should be the best according to a chosen set of conditions. For example: well-being, comfort, ease of operation and construction. With the help of software such as Rhino/Grasshopper and SIMOC we can demonstrate the practicality and the necessity of this approach for future human settlements in any extreme environment.

The SIMOC team presented a paper at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July 12-14, 2021 (virtual event)

SIMOC – A hi-fidelity simulation of off-world, human habitation and bioregenerative life support … for citizen scientists
by Kai Staats with Ezio Melotti, Tyson Brown, Pete Barnes, Gretchen Hollingsworth, and Michael Pope

“This publication presents the results of a world-wide engagement of SIMOC, with specific examples of how SIMOC was integrated into virtual classrooms during the COVID pandemic for an iterative exploration of the scientific method.”

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …

Astrophysicist Dr. Paul Sutter interviews SAM Director Kai Staats from within the Biosphere 2!

“This week on Space Radio I had the opportunity to catch up with my good friend Kai Staats. Kai joined us from the grounds of the University of Arizona’s Biosphere 2 as we talked about his newest project, Space Analog for the Moon and Mars. Among other topics, we discussed the removal of perchlorates from the Martian soil and how Methane could potentially be used.” — Dr. Sutter

“With the SIMOC web interface, you can design your own Mars habitat and then run a simulation to find out if your astronauts would survive. By choosing life support systems, crew quarters, plants to clean the air and provide food, and more, you can learn a lot about just how complex and delicate extraterrestrial habitats are.”

In the weekly Planetary Society Downlink news update, SIMOC is featured as the Wow of the Week, Read the full post …

The SIMOC team presented a paper at the International Conference on Environmental Systems (ICES), July 7-11, 2019, Boston, Massachusetts.

An agent-based model for high-fidelity ECLSS and bioregenerative simulation
by Kai Staats with Iurii Milovanov, John Adams, Gregory Schoberth, Thomas Curry, Katherine Morgan, Jason Deleeuw, and Gene Giacomelli

“SIMOC was configured to approximate the non-linear functions of CO2 and biomass production in a real-world plant growth study conducted at the Biosphere 2. This publication sees the results of the first application of this novel approach to modeling a real-world plant study, where data generated by the SIMOC model is compared to data collected for the duration of the experiment, and then compared.”

Visit the SIMOC and SAM Publications page to learn more …