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Space technology for housing 
Power from sustainable natural resources
ESA and European industry have lately developed new and more efficient three-layered triple-junction gallium-arsenide (GaAs) solar cells to generate electricity. First flown on SMART-1 launched on 27 September 2003 they have 24.5 % efficiency compared to the 6 % - 12 % efficiency of those commercially available at present, such as the solar cells used in pocket calculators. For cost reasons these GaAs solar cells are only being used in very specific systems but in the not too distant future they could be a very powerful source of energy for household appliances.
To provide electricity around the clock, lithium-ion batteries can be combined with solar cells that use an energy-management system developed for satellites. This is known as a power point tracker and it taps into electricity in an optimal manner to reduce consumption. This is one of the leading-edge technologies that, together with GaAs solar cells, helped take the Nuna solar-powered cars to victory in the World Solar Challenge races in 2001 and 2003.
Water supplies with two-quality water standards and piping systems are already being evaluated to save limited supplies of fresh water. ESA has been carrying out research into how to recycle water as part of studies on how to create the complete artificial ecosystems that will be needed for extended missions in space.
Water purification systems, based on the return-osmosis concept developed for space applications, are now at the point where they can be applied to domestic households and will become economically feasible in the very near future. Systems based on these principles are already used in luxury cruise ships and in environmentally sensitive habitats such as the French/Italian Concordia station in Antarctica, as new international environment laws already dictate the application of such technology.
Air purification is of greater concern today because of increased mobility, and the international exchange of agricultural and industrial products. Conventional air-conditioning is not enough to deal with airborne microorganisms carrying fungi, bacteria, spores and viruses.
Special systems, developed for Mir and the International Space Station to clean the air, are now starting to be used in hospitals. Soon, advanced systems based on space technology could be used to purify air in offices and homes.
Lightweight CFRP (carbon-fibre-reinforced-plastics) composites developed by ESA for use on its spacecraft could be used to build housing more resistant to earthquakes than conventional steel and concrete structures. In addition, CFRP composites offer a plentiful supply of design options for exteriors and interiors, and could enable the design of buildings with striking new structural shapes.
Together with the development of composites similar to carbon fibre, work is also in progress on the use of natural-fibre composites, much of it conducted in the car industry. For the SpaceHouse, a combination of these new fibres and CFRP would be used for the walls and secondary structures, optimised by calculations, methods and tools used for ESA space programmes.
Last update: 19 August 2004
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