The Micro-Ecological Life Support System Alternative (MELiSSA) is a European Space Agency (ESA) initiative which aims to develop the technology for a future regenerative life support system for long term human space missions. Within MELiSSA, the Belgium Life Support System Investigation on Microcompounds Analysis (BELiSSMA) is a scientific research and technology project to study and quantify the effect of micro-compounds (i.e. minerals, endocrinal products, pharmaceutical drugs and genetic elements) on the MELISSA processes.
As subcontractor and part of the consortium, ESTEE takes active participation in the development of a research and innovation agenda in addition to a facilitating role in joint research and innovation actions which include:
- Establishing state of the art based on literature review
- Setup and prioritise a stakeholder database
- Define a stakeholder engagement strategy
The BELiSSIMA project is currently in phase A and approaching the end of Task 1 – defining the roadmap to engage stakeholders. Phase B will focus on implementing R&D activities on the following topics:
- Microcompounds behaviour
- Water reuse and recycling
- Food production