LIFE SUPPORT
Congratulations, you have been chosen as the Life Support (LS) officer for this important mission. Your job is to maintain the critical life support systems onboard the spacecraft. Without this system, the astronauts cannot survive in space.
You will need to follow every step on this page, without skipping a single step. If you find at any point that the readings from the spacecraft are not safe, you must inform the crew! Do not begin the first step until told to do so by the Mission Commander.
You will be communicating with other teams using the CHAT at the bottom of the screen. Make sure you use the drop down menu to select the correct team you want to send the message to. Once you have typed it in the CHAT, make sure to hit Enter so that the team receives it.
HUMIDITY RESEARCH
Follow these directions for researching RELATIVE HUMIDITY:
- Read the notes from the previous Life Support officer by clicking on the box labeled NOTES.
NOTES
Relative humidity is a measure of how much water is in the air, relative to how much water the air can hold. Relative humidity is written as a percentage. If the relative humidity is too high or too low, then equipment onboard the Spacecraft may not operate properly. The instrument used to measure relative humidity is called a hygrometer.
Below the list of steps there is a HUMIDITY DATA LOG. In this HUMIDITY DATA LOG, you will be typing and recording the number readings the Mission Commander will give you in the future.
HUMIDITY RESEARCH DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
HUMIDITY DATA
Follow these directions for collecting data on RELATIVE HUMIDITY:
1. Answer the RELATIVE HUMIDITY RESEARCH questions in the HUMIDITY DATA LOG.
2. Send the following message to “COM” in CHAT:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. Please use the _________ to send the relative humidity onboard the Spacecraft as soon as possible.
3. Once you have typed it in the CHAT, make sure to hit SEND or hit Enter so that the COM officer can read it and deliver it to the Mission Commander.
4. Read the information on safe humidity levels by clicking on the box labeled SAFETY.
SAFETY
The humidity in the spacecraft is controlled by the Life Support System, labeled LS 1-3 inside the vehicle. Astronauts use approximately 93% of the water they produce. That includes breath, sweat and urine (pee). This keeps the humidity on the station down. It also helps maintain the station’s water supply.
The relative humidity must stay below 70%. If it gets higher, microorganisms may start to grow in the spacecraft and make the astronauts sick and clog other life support systems. High humidity may also damage electronic equipment.
5. When the Mission Commander sends you the reading for relative humidity, open the HUMIDITY DATA LOG to record the data.
HUMIDITY DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
HUMIDITY DATA ANALYSIS
Follow these directions for analyzing RELATIVE HUMIDITY:
1. Compare the hygrometer reading onboard the Spacecraft to your research to decide if the humidity reading is normal.
2. Click “yes” or “no” to indicate if the relative humidity is normal or not, then click “Submit”. If not normal, scroll down to the section that says “EMERGENCY”.
3. If you answered “yes”, locate the CHAT in your call software and send the following message to “COM”:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. The relative humidity onboard the Spacecraft is normal.
4. Once this is completed, continue to the section labeled “AIR PRESSURE RESEARCH” and follow the task cards.
AIR PRESSURE RESEARCH
- Read the notes from the previous Life Support officer by clicking on the box labeled NOTES.
NOTES
The air pressure at sea level on Earth is 1040 millibars, or 30.7 inches of Mercury. Although humans can survive in slightly lower or higher air pressures, the equipment onboard the spacecraft cannot. To maintain a safe environment, air pressure must remain consistent onboard the spacecraft during the mission. A normal change in air pressure is -/+ 0.5 inches of mercury.
Below the list of steps there is an AIR PRESSURE DATA LOG. In this AIR PRESSURE DATA LOG, you will be typing and recording the number readings the Mission Commander will give you in the future.
2. Answer the AIR PRESSURE RESEARCH questions in the AIR PRESSURE RESEARCH DATA LOG below. Click “Submit” when you’ve answered the questions.
AIR PRESSURE RESEARCH DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
AIR PRESSURE DATA
Follow these directions for collecting data on AIR PRESSURE:
1. Locate the CHAT and end the following message to “COM”:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. Please send the air pressure onboard the Spacecraft.
2. Once you have typed it in the CHAT, make sure to hit SEND or hit Enter so that the COM officer can read it and deliver it to the Mission Commander.
3. Read the information on how to convert millibars to inches of mercury by clicking on the box labeled CONVERT.
CONVERT
Multiply the air pressure value in millibars by 0.0295 to convert the value to inches of mercury.
4. When the Mission Commander sends you the reading for air pressure, open the AIR PRESSURE DATA LOG to record the data.
AIR PRESSURE DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
AIR PRESSURE ANALYSIS
Follow these directions for analyzing AIR PRESSURE:
1. Compare the reading onboard the Spacecraft to your research to decide if the change in the air pressure is within normal range.
2. Click “yes” or “no” to indicate if the air pressure change is normal or not, then click “Submit”. If not normal, scroll down to the section that says “EMERGENCY”.
3. If you answered “yes”, locate the CHAT and send the following message to “COM”:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. The air pressure onboard the Spacecraft is normal. Please check again in 15 minutes.
6. Once this is completed, continue to the section labeled “OXYGEN SYSTEM RESEARCH” and follow the task cards.
OXYGEN SYSTEM RESEARCH
Follow these directions for researching the OXYGEN levels on the spacecraft:
- Read the notes from the previous Life Support officer by clicking on the box labeled NOTES.
NOTES
In the spacecraft, oxygen is created by running electricity through water. For the oxygen to arrive at the cabin of the spacecraft, it runs through a valve system. Each valve is labeled with a number, such as BV-1 or BV-2.Open valves have a green color light, while closed valves have a red color light. For the valve system to be operational, it must be set in this configuration below:
Below. there is an OXYGEN SYSTEM DATA LOG. In this OXYGEN SYSTEM DATA LOG, you will use it to report on the status of the oxygen system in the future.
2. Answer the OXYGEN SYSTEM RESEARCH questions in the OXYGEN SYSTEM RESEARCH DATA LOG below. Click “Submit” when you’ve answered the questions.
OXYGEN SYSTEM RESEARCH DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
OXYGEN SYSTEM DATA
Follow these directions for collecting data for the OXYGEN SYSTEM:
1. Locate the CHAT and send the following message to “COM”:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. Please focus your camera to the oxygen valves.
4. Once you have typed it in the CHAT, make sure to hit SEND or hit Enter so that the COM officer can read it and deliver it to the Mission Commander.
5. Keep the NOTES box open so that you can compare the oxygen system on the spacecraft with the image on your screen.
6. When the Mission Commander adjusts the camera to view the oxygen system, open the OXYGEN SYSTEM DATA LOG to confirm if the oxygen system is configured correctly or not.
OXYGEN SYSTEM DATA LOG
OPEN DATA LOG
OXYGEN SYSTEM ANALYSIS
Follow these directions for analyzing the OXYGEN SYSTEM:
1. Click “yes” or “no” to indicate if the oxygen system is correctly configured or not, then click “Next”. If it is not, scroll down to the section that says “EMERGENCY”.
2. If you answered “yes”, locate the CHAT and send the following message to “COM”:
The LS team has a message for the Mission Commander. The oxygen system is working correctly.
3. Once this is completed, send the following message to “EVERYONE”:
The Life Support team has completed all of their tasks.
4. Wait quietly for any further instructions.
When you find an emergency onboard the spacecraft, you will need to walk the Mission Commander through fixing the emergency. You will be speaking directly to the Mission Commander, so you must have your microphone enabled. Follow these instructions to begin:
1. Locate the CHAT in your call software.
2. Select “COM” from the drop-down menu.
3. Send the following message to “COM”:
This is Life Support. There is an emergency onboard the Spacecraft. Standby for further instructions.
4. You will need to wait for the Flight Director to ask you to unmute yourself. Once this happens, continue on to the next step.
5. Locate the MICROPHONE button on your call software.
6. The MICROPHONE button will have two states: on and off. To test that it works, say the entirety of the following message to Mission Commander:
This is Life Support to Spacecraft, Do you read me, over?
7. Wait for a response from the Mission Commander. If there is no response, press or click the MICROPHONE button to ensure you are not muted, and then resend the message. If you get a response from the Mission Commander, that means the communication system is working, and you may continue to the next step.
8. Find below the system that is currently experiencing an issue and follow the steps to solve the emergency.
Read to the Mission Commander these instructions to solve a humidity emergency.
1. Find the DESICCANT BAGS onboard the spacecraft.
2. Place them next to each individual station on the spacecraft.
3. Leave them there for the duration of the mission, this will solve the emergency.
Read to the Mission Commander these instructions to solve an air pressure emergency.
- Find the RED AIR PRESSURE VALVE onboard the spacecraft.
- Turn the red valve clockwise until I hear the release of air.
- I have heard the release of air. Emergency has been resolved.
Read the Mission Commander these instructions to solve an oxygen emergency.
- Find the OXYGEN SYSTEM VALVES onboard the spacecraft.
- I will tell you which valves need to be open and which need to be closed.
- Valve BV-____ needs to be _______.
(repeat step 3 until the Oxygen System valves are set correctly)
4. The Oxygen System should be functioning correctly now. The emergency is resolved.