HVAC in space - creating extraterrestrial indoor environments

HVAC IN SPACE: CREATING EXTRATERRESTRIAL INDOOR ENVIRONMENTS

In outer space applications, HVAC is a matter of survival—not comfort or health, according to Hamidreza Najafi, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE. To kick off ASHRAE Journal Podcast’s second season, Najafi and John Constantinide, P.E., Member ASHRAE, discuss how HVAC&R technologies used on Earth can be applied to extraterrestrial indoor environments and the opportunities ASHRAE has to help shape the built environment in space.

What would ventilation look like in space?

As private companies race to space (22:00 and 25:15), researchers and engineers are working to create built environments in the final frontier (3:12).

To kick off ASHRAE Journal Podcast’s second season, John Constantinide, P.E., Member ASHRAE, and Hamidreza Najafi, Ph.D., Member ASHRAE, discuss how HVAC&R technologies used on Earth can be applied to extraterrestrial indoor environments (3:35) as well as opportunities ASHRAE has to help shape the built environment in space (3:50, 21:30, 27:25 and x).

The pair also talk about how the International Space Station is an example of a living environment in outer space (4:30) and how the station showcases the importance of HVAC&R technologies and indoor air quality (5:45). Then, they discuss the importance of designing HVAC&R systems that help people exist and survive in the harsh environments of space (5:20), among other topics such as design considerations, nonHVAC elements that affect the built environment and sustainability in space.

Almost two years ago, Constantinide and Najafi co-authored an ASHRAE Journal ar ticle about (2:56) environmental controls in space.

Download that article at ashrae.org/podcast/space.

Read the full article in the Industry Journal, April 2022 issue