MECOPTICS: APPLYING NATURAL LIFE SUPPORT LESSONS TO AND FROM SPACESHIP EARTH

摘要

This paper highlights fundamental principles derived from naturally-occurring processes and systems that apply to planning of man-made environmental life support strategies and accommodations on Earth and in space. The term "life support" in this context assumes a broad definition which includes energy generation and conversion devices, atmospheric and nutrient exchanges, water purification and recycling, and sustainable conservation of all vital resources. The paper emphasizes synergetic ways that natural forces, elements and processes interact to support all life, how humans have adapted and applied these principles in technical innovations, and ways resource conservation can be optimized at broadly ranging scales of societal enterprise and survival on Planet Earth and beyond.