1st International Space Ecology Workshop - Research Needs & Roadmap to the Future

Self-sufficient life support systems will be crucial for meeting the physical and mental health needs of crew during long-term, deep space exploration missions and for maintaining a permanent human presence in space. Closing the material loop with food production and waste recycling is necessary to reduce reliance on Earth resupply. Closed ecological systems (CES) can utilize a combination of biological, ecological, and physicochemical processes to support human life. A space habitat can be considered an artificial ecosystem in which human beings exchange energy and material with other system components and their extraterrestrial environment. The inaugural International Space Ecology Workshop was held on October 22, 2022, to promote and organize CES research internationally and to reignite interest in the ecological systems approach to space life support. This workshop brought together engineers, space biologists, and ecologists to discuss the past, present, and future of CES that could enable indefinite, sustainable human exploration of space, as well as sustainable living on Earth. Specific workshop goals were to review research needs and knowledge gained to date, connect active professionals in the field, and plan next steps for closing knowledge and technology gaps. This paper summarizes the proceedings and a Space Ecology Roadmap for prioritizing and guiding future action.