The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Illustration: VCG

The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) logo is seen displayed on a smartphone screen. Illustration: VCG

US scientists claimed they have found “critical gaps” in NASA’s development of space life support systems that “could prevent the US from competing with China in the pursuit of long-term manned space exploration and habitation,” media reported on Sunday. 

Washington’s limited support for bioregenerative life support research, such as funding and program cuts, puts its space competitiveness at risk, a team of scientists including NASA researchers claimed in a paper published in the peer-reviewed journal npj Microgravity, the South China Morning Post reported on Sunday. 

The current approach to space life support systems in the US involves resupply trips to transport water, food and other consumable materials. However, long-term human missions past Earth’s orbit to the moon or Mars are limited by the massive costs and logistics issues associated with resupply launches, along with safety concerns about the impact of radiation and microgravity on the human body, the team wrote.

D. Marshall Porterfield, corresponding author of the paper, who previously served as division director for space life and physical sciences at NASA headquarters, criticized the US for having the “completely wrong model for how we need to go to space,” according to the report.

NASA earlier focused on developing a bioregenerative life support system (BLSS) that leverages biological organisms to recycle and generate resources like oxygen, food and water. Such an approach offers a better solution for long-term human missions in deep space, the media report said. 

However, it was discontinued after budget cuts and a shift in research priorities in 2004. The remaining bioregenerative technologies research is facing further funding cuts under the current US administration’s 2026 budget, Porterfield added.

While the US’ support for BLSS waned, the team noted this research had been “embraced and advanced” by the China National Space Administration over the past two decades, SCMP reported. The Lunar Palace 1, developed by the team at Beihang University in Beijing, is China’s first ground-based integrated experimental facility for a permanent artificial closed ecosystem life support system, according to China Manned Space Agency.

According to a paper published last year in journal The Innovation, Lunar Palace 1 achieved a world record for continuous system operation of 370 days in 2018. During the operation, the four-component biological chain of “human-plant-animal-microbe” maintained stable interactions, with plant production efficiency fully meeting the crew’s demand for plant-based food, Liu Hong, an academician of the International Academy of Astronautics and chief designer of Lunar Palace 1, told media. 

The paper concluded that the BLSS established the theoretical and technical foundation for supporting long-term human survival in confined environments, with potential applications for ensuring sustained human presence on the moon in the future.

The US’s decision to cut NASA’s budget—particularly in key areas like life support systems—threatens to delay the already tight timeline for returning to the moon by slowing progress on critical technologies needed for long-term lunar missions, highlighting the inconsistency in US’s space policy, Wang Yanan, chief editor of Aerospace Knowledge magazine, told the Global Times on Sunday.

For missions such as returning to the Moon, it is inevitable that astronauts will need to live and work for extended periods on extraterrestrial surfaces, Wang said. In such environments, a bioregenerative life support system is a crucial technology—without it, the safety of astronauts cannot be guaranteed. However, the US government has not given sufficient attention to these critical areas, the expert noted.

Once a mission objective is established, it would be highly unusual for the corresponding key technologies to receive insufficient attention — particularly in contrast to China’s space program, he said. In China, when a major aerospace goal is set, policy consistency is maintained for many years, with the government providing stable and robust support for all related critical technologies, Wang added.

This experience has demonstrated time and again that in human spaceflight, mission reliability, steady technological progress, thorough verification, and practical application are all indispensable, Wang said. It requires a scientifically sound and stable development process, backed by sufficient resources and consistent government support. Currently, the US appears to be facing clear challenges in maintaining such policy stability, the expert emphasized.

In April, Shan Zhongde, head of the China National Space Administration, said China’s lunar exploration program has always adhered to the principles of equality, mutual benefits, peaceful utilization and win-win cooperation, sharing achievements with the international community. He added that CNSA will continue to accept international applications for lunar sample research, expressing hope that global scientists will make new discoveries that expand human knowledge and benefit humanity.