Difference between revisions of "Atmosphere"
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Revision as of 06:24, 20 July 2007
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There are several different types of atmospheres to consider.
Lunar atmosphere[1] Earth's atmosphere[2] Atmospheric pressure on Earth[3]
The most important for Lunar development is the pressure inside your space suit or habitat. Here is a listing of the relative pressures of other environments and the percentage oxygen in each.
| Location | Sea Level Oxygen | Pressure |
| Earth | (21%) | 101.3 kPa |
| Mercury Program | (100%) | 34.5 kPa |
| Apollo Program | (100%) | 34.5 kPa |
| Skylab | (70%) | 34.5kPa |
| Space Shuttle | (28.5%) | 70.0 kPa |
| Cabin Pressurization [4] |
Under most circumstances, if you don't get enough oxygen pressure you will get altitude sickness[5]
In the extreme case of a severe leak in space, you have to consider what the Death Zone does to climbers on Everest [6].
Most desirable for long term habitats in space is somewhere around 40kPa total with about 60% oxygen. In the event of an sudden depressurization this ratio means you do not have a hard transition to switch to your backup breathing systems. The rest is Nitrogen, water vapor and trace amounts of CO2 which can be isolated quite easily.
