Consumables for human exploration

[mdodson]

Who knows the figures for how much mass to budget per person per month for having astronauts on a mission? Thanks!<br />

 

[JonClarke]

The exact amounts vary according to source. But the following numbers are widely used:<br /><br />30 kg water (3 kg per day if 90% recycled as on ISS)<br />1 kg food (dry)<br />1 kg oxygen<br />1 kg nitrogen<br />0.7 kg other consumables (toiletries, etc.)<br /><br />These numbers include a 20% margin for wastage. If you allow 7 kg in total per day you would be close enough. This comes to 210 kg per crewmember per month (30 days).<br /><br />Jon <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p><em>Whether we become a multi-planet species with unlimited horizons, or are forever confined to Earth will be decided in the twenty-first century amid the vast plains, rugged canyons and lofty mountains of Mars</em>  Arthur Clarke</p> </div>

 

[nexium]

Those numbers seem reasonable assuming the oxygen and nitrogen are recycled. Energy is also a consumable, but it is typical analyzed separately. For century long missions, many things become (sort of) consumable, as they fail, needing repair parts and (later) total replacement. More than a century, likely requires extensive manufacturing facillities aboard. Neil