KNOWLEDGE OF REGENERATIVE
LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS FOR
LONG TERM SPACE MISSIONS

CREATING A CIRCULAR FUTURE

THE EUROPEAN PROJECT
OF CIRCULAR LIFE SUPPORT SYSTEMS

For more than 30 years, The European Space Agency (i.e. ESA) is active in the field of regenerative life support systems. MELiSSA (Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative) is the European project of circular life support systems. It was established to gain knowledge on regenerative systems, aiming to the highest degree of autonomy and consequently to produce food, water and oxygen from mission wastes. The MELiSSA project has been initiated in 1987 after a preliminary flight on board Chinese rocket Longue Marche. In October 1988, the concept was elaborated and published. The contractual activities started in 1989.

 
 

MELiSSA Events

Actualities

2022 MELiSSA Conference

Discovering innovative and unique projects that are part of the circular economy, this is the promise made to you by the organizing committee of this conference that will take place on 8-9-10 November 2022!

Come and meet the different actors of the MELiSSA Project. Immerse yourself in the world of space

Take advantage of this incredible opportunity to interact with celebrities in the sector!

MELiSSA Yearly Meeting 2021 in Barcelona

In November 2021, we had the pleasure to finally meet again, for the MELiSSA Yearly Meeting in Barcelona. We were thrilled to welcome new faces, such as Astronaut Pedro Duque and YouTuber Léo Grasset @Dirtybiology. In this video, you will learn more about the results of the MELiSSA Project in the last 2 years, you will discover the MELiSSA Pilot Plant in Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, and ... you will know about the first thing that Pedro Duque would do on Mars!

Thank you to Christophe Lasseur, Francesc Gòdia Casablancas, Pedro Duque, Léo Grasset, Rosa María Sebastián and Juan Carlos Cortés. Organized by ESA, MELiSSA Project and Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona.

 

MELiSSA Foundation is a non-profit organisation created by the MELiSSA partners to finance and harmonise MELiSSA PhDs and PostDocs.

The MELiSSA Foundation is hosting as well all communications and education issues of the MELiSSA Project.

 

Thomas Pesquet is one of six astronauts recruited by the European Space Agency. As part of his 196-day Proxima mission, he lived aboard the International Space Station from November 18, 2016 to June 2, 2017.

Research & development

Preliminary Flight experiments

GROUND DEMONSTRATION

TERRESTRIAL APPLICATIONS

EDUCATION & COMMUNICATION

MELiSSA PUBLICATIONS

BIBLIOGRAPHIC REFERENCES

MELiSSA PARTNERS

Around 50 organisations (e.g. universities, research centers, space industries, terrestrial companies) are involved in the project. 15 partners have signed a Memorandum of Understanding. MELiSSA is internationally recognized as the most advanced effort to develop closed loop life support systems. Today, the MELiSSA partners are from Belgium, Spain, France, Switzerland, Italy, The Netherlands and Canada.

Regenerative Life Support Systems for Long Term Space Missions

Do Not Track detected