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Astronomy & Space vocabulary · Astronauts & Human Spaceflight

Life support

Meaning in astronomy & space, with examples

nounCommon term

In astronomy & space, life support means: The systems in a spacecraft or spacesuit that keep people alive by supplying oxygen, removing carbon dioxide and controlling temperature, pressure and water.

In Turkish: yaşam destek sistemi, yaşam desteği

How it is used

Usually 'life support system', or ECLSS (Environmental Control and Life Support System) in technical texts. On the space station it recycles most of the water, including sweat and urine. In medicine, the same phrase means machines that keep a patient alive.

Example sentences

  1. The life support system on the station recycles about 98 percent of the water.

  2. A long mission to Mars will need life support that works for years without resupply.

Common collocations

  • life support system
  • closed-loop life support
  • life support failure
  • portable life support
  • space stationA large spacecraft that stays in orbit for years, where crews live and work for long periods and carry out experiments in microgravity.
  • spacesuitA sealed, pressurised suit that protects an astronaut from vacuum, extreme temperatures and radiation and supplies oxygen to breathe.
  • crew capsuleThe small spacecraft that carries astronauts to and from space. It sits on top of a rocket for launch and returns to Earth under parachutes.
  • astronautA person who is trained to travel and work in space on board a spacecraft or a space station.

More terms: Astronauts & Human Spaceflight

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