[Hybrid biophysical-chemical life support systems for human]

Based on comparison of biological and physical/chemical regenerative life support systems (LSS) the authors maintain that hybrid LSS will apparently be the most congruous for future space vehicles. In their opinion, a hybrid LSS will evolve from a basic LSS with maximum regenerative functions. One of the precursory experimentally tested LSS could serve as the basic model. This basic LSS may and must incorporate physical/chemical technologies which, without affecting the chemical nature of substances within the system, will subserve synchronization of synthesis and destruction processes underlying the turnover in any ecosystem. Therein lies the advantage of hybrid LSS over modelling of natural ecosystems in which physical and chemical cycles of substance transformation take much longer time than the biological ones.