Astronauts need oxygen to live on the International Space Station. Where does this oxygen come from?

On October 4, 1957, the first artificial satellite in the history of human civilization was successfully launched, marking the official start of the era of space exploration for mankind. Exploring space naturally requires the participation of astronauts. In 1961, mankind also achieved the feat of the first astronaut in space. Since then, mankind has begun an era of rapid space development.

When astronauts enter space and want to work more safely and stably, they need a docking station, and this docking station is the space station. For humans who have just entered the era of space exploration, a space station is of very important significance. Only with a space station in Earth orbit can our astronauts stay in space for a longer period of time and conduct a series of space experiments and observations.

Realizing the importance of the space station to human exploration of space, in the 1980s, the United States took the lead in proposing the construction of the International Space Station, and then 11 countries from around the world cooperated and spent ten years The construction was completed in 1993. This is mankind's largest aerospace project in contemporary times.

After the International Work Station was put into use, it has brought huge benefits to mankind. Many experiments and observation data related to space are conducted through the International Space Station. We often see news about the International Space Station on the Internet, and there are even live broadcasts of the International Space Station, so that ordinary people can really see the work and life of astronauts on the space station.

When we see astronauts leisurely performing various tasks on the space station, a question emerges: How does the oxygen in the International Space Station come from? We all know that human beings are oxygen-loving beings and cannot live without oxygen for a moment. When we were on the earth, there was oxygen in the atmosphere, and people could breathe freely and survive.

But after leaving the earth, space is a vacuum environment with no oxygen. If astronauts want to work and live for a long time on the International Space Station, they naturally cannot do without a sufficient supply of oxygen. How does this oxygen come from? Some people may say, isn't this a very simple question? Of course, the oxygen in the space station is transported directly from the earth through rockets. Is this really the case?

In fact, this perception is not completely correct. The International Space Station is equivalent to a small ecological circle. Oxygen is an essential substance, and if this oxygen is transported directly from the earth through rockets, it will need to face many problems. First of all, transporting oxygen requires a solid tank, which takes up a lot of space and mass.

Humanity’s current space transportation capabilities are not very strong. When transporting materials, strict selection must be carried out. Transporting more important materials in a limited space is an important responsibility of rocket transportation. The oxygen tank will take up a lot of transportation space, which will increase transportation costs. Secondly, refining pure oxygen is dangerous and costly, and this compressed oxygen is not suitable for human beings to breathe directly.

It can be seen that it is a very unrealistic idea to directly transport compressed pure oxygen from the earth to the International Space Station. Naturally, scientists have not adopted such a method. So how can the oxygen supply to the International Space Station be realized? At this time, scientists thought of electrolyzing water. We all know that water is the source of life. From a microscopic perspective, it is composed of hydrogen atoms and oxygen atoms.

Hydrogen and oxygen can be obtained by ionizing water, and then the oxygen is released into the space station to meet the daily breathing needs of astronauts, while the hydrogen is collected for other uses. To achieve such ionized water, an oxygen ecosystem is needed. For this purpose, scientists have specially developed an oxygen ecological device suitable for the International Space Station.

This equipment has a high oxygen generation efficiency and can produce 12 pounds of oxygen per day, which can be used by 10 people. Generally speaking, the space station has three astronauts stationed there for a long time, and there will be six astronauts during handover work. This oxygen can be used by three astronauts.

In addition, this system can increase the amount of oxygen generated in an emergency, up to 20 pounds per day. At the same time, the International Space Station is also equipped with a high-efficiency air filtration system. After exhaled carbon dioxide is separated, the carbon dioxide reacts with hydrogen to generate water and methane. The methane is discharged directly and the water is used for water circulation or electrolysis to produce oxygen. Waste gases including ammonia, hydrogen sulfide and instrument work will be completely filtered.

I believe this is the first time many friends have heard of such an advanced oxygen generation system. Indeed, in human daily life, we basically do not see such an advanced oxygen generation system. It is generally used in Some cutting-edge scientific fields, especially in the field of aerospace. The aerospace field is a collection of the most advanced technologies currently available to mankind.

We can see from the equipment of the space station and the equipment of astronauts that many things are currently the most advanced for mankind. Once humans develop advanced technologies, they are often applied in space first. Exploring. Only the updating of advanced equipment can make human space exploration smoother, and can we continue to gain more knowledge about space.

As an important transit station for mankind to enter space, the International Space Station will play an increasingly important role in the future.

In particular, humans will launch plans to land on the moon and Mars successively in the next few decades. Whether it is a manned landing on the moon or a manned landing on Mars, if we set off directly from the earth, the cost will be very high, and the safety will also be high. Lower it some.

But if it is transferred from the space station before departure, the safety will be much higher. Especially for future manned exploration of Mars or even the establishment of a base on it, we cannot do without the transit of the space station. However, the current International Space Station equipment has continued to age and is facing elimination.

When the current International Space Station is eliminated, the only remaining space station in Earth orbit may be the Chinese space station. I believe many friends know that our country's aerospace technology has developed very rapidly in recent years. Not only has it explored the front and back of the moon, but more importantly, our country's space station is also stepping up construction.

You know, the International Space Station of the last century was built by 11 countries. At that time, because our country’s aerospace technology was still relatively backward, it did not participate in the construction of the International Space Station. The space station currently being built by our country is a large-scale space station built independently by our country. Once completed, it will become the only space station in space. At that time, the International Space Station will also come to an end, and our country’s space station will take over.

In the last century, space exploration was led by the United States to drive mankind forward. In this century, our country’s space station will lead mankind to continue to move forward, and our country will also become a new leader in human spaceflight. This is as a The pride of a Chinese is also the pride of every Chinese son and daughter.