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Astronauts face multiple risks during space flight, such as microgravity and radiation exposure. Microgravity can decrease bone density, and radiation exposure is a carcinogen. However, those are chronic effects. <\/p>\n
The biggest risk to astronauts is fire since escape would be difficult on a long mission to Mars or elsewhere beyond Low Earth Orbit. Scientists are researching how fire behaves on spacecraft so astronauts can be protected. <\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Scientists from the Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) at the University of Bremen are investigating the risks of fire onboard spacecraft. They\u2019ve published a new study in the Proceedings of the Combustion Institute titled \u201cEffect of oxygen concentration, pressure, and opposed flow velocity on the flame spread along thin PMMA sheets.\u201d The lead author is Hans-Christoph Ries.<\/p>\n \u201cA fire on board a spacecraft is one of the most dangerous scenarios in\u00a0space missions,\u201d said Dr. Florian Meyer, head of the Combustion Technology research group at ZARM. \u201cThere are hardly any options for getting to a safe place or escaping from a spacecraft. It is therefore crucial to understand the behavior of fires under these special conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n Since 2016, ZARM has been researching how fire behaves and spreads in microgravity conditions like those in the ISS. Those conditions also include an oxygen level similar to Earth\u2019s, forced air circulation, and ambient pressure similar to Earth\u2019s. NASA has been conducting similar experiments, and now we know that fire behaves differently in microgravity than it does on Earth. <\/p>\n Initially, a fire will burn with a smaller flame and take longer to spread. This is to the fire\u2019s advantage since it won\u2019t be noticed as quickly. Fire also burns hotter in microgravity, meaning that some materials that may not be combustible in normal Earth conditions could burn in spacecraft, creating toxic chemicals in the spacecraft\u2019s air. <\/p>\n \n