91 DAY LUNAR-MARS LIFE SUPPORT TEST PROJECT TO END FRIDAY



December 16, 1997
Linda Matthews-Schmidt
Johnson Space Center
(281) 483-5111


<h4>Release: J97-42</h4> <h3>91 Day Lunar-Mars Life Support Test 
Project to End Friday</h3> 

Members of the news media are invited on Friday, December 19 at 9 a.m. 
CST to attend the completion of the most recent phase of testing of 
regenerative life support systems as a crew of four volunteers emerge 
from an air-tight chamber environment after 91 days in a special 
chamber. The test is the third in a series of experiments at the 
Johnson Space Center in preparation for possible human expeditions 
away from Earth orbit.



Phase III of the Lunar-Mars Life Support Test Project began on Sept. 
19, 1997. This phase used a combination of physical, mechanical, 
chemical and biological methods to recycle all the air and water used 
by the crew and to use plants grown in a connecting chamber to 
provide some of their food. Regenerative life support is a critical 
enabling technology for future space missions, since astronauts 
cannot carry all the supplies necessary to support a trip to Mars or 
an extended stay on a base on the Moon.



The test crew members for Phase III are Crew Commander Dr. Nigel 
Packham, 36, a Lockheed-Martin Life Support System Scientist; Vickie 
Kloeris, 41, a NASA Shuttle Food System Manager; John Lewis, 30, a 
Lockheed-Martin Life Support System Engineer; and Laura Supra, 28, 
Allied Signal Life Support System Engineer.



The latest information about the chamber test can be found at the 
following web site at URL: http://pet.jsc.nasa.gov



Media should arrive at the JSC newsroom in Bldg. 2 at the Johnson 
Space Center by 8:15 a.m. CST Friday to be escorted to Bldg. 7 for 
the crew's departure from the chamber shortly after 9 a.m. Tapes of 
an October 8, 1997 press conference regarding the test, which include 
comments from Advanced Life Support program management and the crew 
as well as a video tour of the chamber quarters are available upon 
request. The crew egress from the chamber will appear on NASA-TV's 
Video File at 11:00 a.m. CST Friday and on subsequent replays at 2:00 
and 5:00 p.m. Please contact the JSC newsroom at 281-483-5111 if you 
plan to participate.

	
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