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Having established itself a place in a list of relevant space-related activities, the CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is providing the NASA and the NSF with a vision of the value of analogous operations for understanding the complex and interrelated elements of habitation, both on the Antarctic continent and in future missions to space. CAAP is being implemented in phases:Phase I will deploy a vegetable food production chamber to the South Pole Station. An on-site survey to find a suitable site for the Phase I chamber identified a number of candidate locations were identified. The parameters considered included space requirements and availability, proximity to appropriate utilities, proximity to the Utilidor, structural integrity and clearance, efficacy of planned operations, crew accessibility, and life-style, on-going Station activities, future Station redesign activities and future expansion into CAAP Phase II.

One of the crucial issues associated with advanced life support systems is the issue of energy consumption and utilization. This is of paramount importance in food production, resource recovery and waste processing. Because of the difficult logistics, the South Pole Station represents a unique opportunity for the development of the concepts of energy consumption and utilization. The CELSS Antarctic Analog Project (CAAP) is being developed and deployed for operations at the South Pole Station to conduct a validation of CELSS and life support techniques and approaches under severe, isolated and realistic conditions. These polar conditions are analogous to space mission scenarios, a Mars surface habitat or a Lunar encampment mission. This paper will explore methods and processes for maximizing the effectiveness and benefits of CAAP while reducing the overall energy penalty in its operation.

Under the NASA Space Biology Initiative (SBI), a CELSS Test Facility (CTF) is being planned for installation on Space Station Freedom. The CTF will be used to study the productivity of typical CELSS higher plant crops under the micro-gravity conditions of the Space Station Freedom (SSF). Such science studies will be supported under the CELSS Space Research Project (CSRP). The CTF will be used to evaluate fundamental issues of crop productivity, such as the production rates of O2, food and transpired water, and CO2 uptake. A series of precursor tests that are essential to the development of the CTF will be flown on Space Shuttle flights. The tests will be used to validate and qualify technology concepts, and to answer specific questions regarding seed germination, root/shoot orientation, water condensation and recycling, nutrient delivery and liquid/gas phase interactions.