From Space for Earth: Life Support Systems driving innovation

ESA Academy has just wrapped up the pilot edition of the Life Support Systems Solutions from Space for Earth training course, the first in the new “Space for Earth” series. Developed by ESA’s Education Office in collaboration with the Life Support and Physical Sciences Instrumentation Section, this two-week training session ran from 10 to 21 March, with the first week held onsite and the second online.

Bringing together 30 students from 15 different nationalities and a wide range of backgrounds—including aerospace engineering, Earth physics, ecology, bioengineering, computer science, and business—the course explored how space-based life support systems can inspire sustainable solutions on Earth.

The week began with the exploration of environmental control and life support systems. Participants were introduced to MELiSSA, gaining insight into the compartments that form this circular ecosystem. Midweek, ESA’s Commercialisation Department provided fresh perspectives on how space technologies can be transferred and commercialised, offering valuable guidance as teams developed their project ideas.

After a visit to ESEC-Redu, participants returned to refine their concepts. Recognising that theory doesn’t always match practice, students had the opportunity to learn from real-world case companies, such as the Swiss VunaNexus AG pioneering nutrient recovery solutions which transforms human urine into a certified fertiliser to promote circular sanitation systems and sustainable agriculture. VunaNexus AG is a sister company of Vuna, a spin-off of the Swiss aquatic research institute EAWAG. They also learned from HYDROHM, a spin-off company of Ghent University, which is developing and implementing electrochemical technology for water treatment. Both EAWAG and Ghent University are members of the MELiSSA consortium.

They provided students with some guidance, helping them anticipate challenges and strategising solutions.

During the second week, students took a hands-on approach, reaching out to manufacturers, analysing financial viability, and engaging with potential customers, to validate their ideas. As in real life, some were successful, while others ran into roadblocks.

The projects are nevertheless worth mentioning:

• ILSA: A low-cost anaerobic digester for greenhouses, converting organic plant waste into energy, heat, carbon dioxide, and liquid fertiliser.
• VJTAL: A system that transforms organic hospital waste into cold atmospheric plasma, which could later be used for sterilisation within the same hospital.
• FarmLoop: A farming waste management solution that uses Black Soldier Fly larvae to process animal manure, converting it into valuable resources such as energy and soil amendments.
• Cyano Brix: A system that leverages cyanobacteria to capture carbon dioxide (CO₂) and convert it into calcium carbonate (CaCO₃), which can be utilized in sustainable cement production.
• DRUiD: A modular, self-sustaining system that converts urine into clean water and sellable byproducts, designed for isolated communities and/or maritime vessels.
• TERRA: A waste-to-energy solution that uses Microbial Fuel Cells (MFCs) to convert brewery organic waste and wastewater into electricity, supporting sustainability in the brewing industry.

The collaborative environment encouraged participants to exchange knowledge across diverse educational and professional backgrounds. As one Canadian student from the University of Waterloo shared:

“The supportive environment enabled everyone to ask different questions, which opened up topics I normally wouldn’t learn about—like anaerobic bacteria aiding in biodegradation (…) Seeing different perspectives on space was refreshing, and by the end of the week, I learned not only about space and the importance of sustainable closed-loop life systems but also how to communicate in an intercultural, interdisciplinary, and international environment.”

More than just a learning experience, this course was a step toward connecting space innovation with real-world solutions that can make a tangible impact on Earth.