A case for supporting human long-term survival on the moon: “Lunar Palace 365” mission

The bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) is a critical technology that enables long-term human survival on the Moon and other extraterrestrial bodies. In this study, we conducted a 370-day, high-closure integrated mission (“Lunar Palace 365”) on Earth in an upgraded ground-based BLSS facility named “Lunar Palace 1”. This experiment aimed to develop technologies to maintain and adjust system stability under long-term operational conditions and crew shifts. Eight volunteer crew members were organized into two groups that inhabited the Lunar Palace 1 in three phases: Group I resided in the cabin for the initial 60-day phase; Group II resided in the cabin for a record-breaking duration of 200 days as the second phase; Group I re-entered the cabin, replacing Group II, and remained for the final 110 days. The system demonstrated strong robustness, quickly minimizing the effects of disturbances through various regulation methods such as the soybean photoperiod and solid waste reactor activity. The BLSS achieved a 100 % recycling regeneration of O₂ and water for human use. The plant production efficiency fully met the crew's need for plant-based food. The recovery proportions of urine and solid waste reached 99.7 % and 67 %, respectively. The BLSS demonstrated excellent stability, with 98.2 % of materials crucial for human survival being recycled and regenerated. These results provide valuable insights for further optimizing BLSS for lunar bases and for simulating similar systems computationally.