Analysis of Historical International Space Station Logistical Mass Delivery

Crewed space exploration missions are extremely
logistics dependent, as cargo requirements shape numerous
program elements such as vehicle and habitat size. Logistics
mass is the mass of items like food and clothing that are not a
part of the vehicle or habitat, yet are required by the crew to
complete the mission. Numerous studies, such as the Human
Exploration Research Analog (HERA) and the Human
Exploration Spacecraft Testbed for Integration and
Advancement (HESTIA) 20-foot chamber analog, have been
conceived to research the rates at which crews consume logistics
mass. These analogs can simulate many aspects of life in space,
including confinement, isolation, limited supplies, and, in
certain experiments, the habitat pressure. However, some
aspects of space exploration, such as the effects of low gravity
and the use of space-based amenities, cannot currently be tested
on the ground. In this paper, International Space Station (ISS)
manifest data obtained through the National Aeronautics and
Space Administration’s (NASA’s) Mission Integration Database
Application System (MIDAS) portal is used as a precursor to
space-based analogs. The objective of the analysis is
determining the breakdown of logistics mass used in space
exploration. This identifies potential areas of improvement and
highlights the rates at which significant items are supplied,
aiding in the weighing of alternative options such as utilizing in
space manufacturing for supplies vs. manifesting spares, or
cleaning clothing in flight vs. discarding it. Official flight
manifests ranging a span of 878 days, just short of the three-year
length of a potential human mission to Mars, were analyzed to
find the rates at which astronauts consumed various logistics
supplies.
From this analysis we have found that contrary to our own
hypothesis, ‘food’ was not the largest portion of the supplied
mass. Instead, ‘Environmental Control and Life Support
Systems’ (ECLSS) contributed 34% of the overall supplied
mass, followed by ‘Science and Outfitting,’ which contributed
29%. Food totaled less than a quarter (21% of the resupplied
mass, while other items of focus in mass reduction efforts such
as ‘Hygiene’ (6%), ‘Clothing’ (3%), and ‘Operational Supplies’
(4%) each contributed less than a tenth of the supplied mass.
This data suggests that by categorizing and analyzing the data
based on an alternative taxonomy and analyzing the full supply
manifests rather than handpicked items, we have revealed
unexpectedly significant items which had not been previously
tracked by exploration logistics efforts. For example, toilet
hardware made up 4% of ECLSS mass, and laptop hardware
and multi-tools each made up 10% of operational supplies mass.
Additionally, the ‘Specialized Clothing’ subcategory containing
fire protective equipment, coveralls, and penguin suits made up
15% of the overall clothing mass. By identifying these newly
found significant items, we can create more realistic mass
estimates for exploration missions and direct mass reduction
efforts to new areas, potentially leading to lower future mission
masses.