A Primer on Long-Duration Life Support
by zdw on 3/27/2026, 1:00:49 AM
https://mceglowski.substack.com/p/a-primer-on-long-duration-life-support
Comments
by: buildsjets
A note on their section on fire extinguishing - just about all aerospace fire extinguishing systems use agents with a fluorine based chemistry. Putting out a fire dissociates some of the agent, and in the presence of humidified air it recombines and forms hydroflouric acid, which will eat you from the inside out. So your air scrubbers had best do a good job at removing acid gasses.<p><a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280646417_Acid_gas_hydrogen_fluoride_production_from_Halon_1301_and_alternative_gaseous_fire_suppressants_-_A_Review" rel="nofollow">https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280646417_Acid_gas_...</a>
3/31/2026, 7:53:35 PM
by: adolph
This is a great read and unironically I want to subscribe to the substack, which is titled "Mars for the Rest of Us." The author is that Ceglowski of Pinboard and occasional space essays at idlewords.com, both of which make this self-recommending for me at least.<p>It's a cliche that space exploration creates discoveries that improve life back here on Earth. In the topics discussed in this essay, water reclamation and waste recycling especially, the future solutions developed I think will lead to improvements for terrestrial living.
3/31/2026, 7:27:09 PM