Difference between revisions of "Atmosphere"
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*Earth's atmosphere[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere] | *Earth's atmosphere[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Earth%27s_atmosphere] | ||
*Atmospheric pressure on Earth[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure] | *Atmospheric pressure on Earth[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atmospheric_pressure] | ||
| − | *Cabin Pressurization[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressurization][http://oregonstate.edu/~atwaterj/merc.htm] | + | *Cabin Pressurization[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cabin_pressurization][http://oregonstate.edu/~atwaterj/merc.htm][http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=605848] |
| − | [http://www.accessmedicine.com/content.aspx?aID=605848] | ||
The most important for Lunar development is the pressure inside your [[Space Suits|space suit]] or habitat. Here is a listing of the relative pressures of other environments and the percentage oxygen in each. | The most important for Lunar development is the pressure inside your [[Space Suits|space suit]] or habitat. Here is a listing of the relative pressures of other environments and the percentage oxygen in each. | ||
| Line 22: | Line 21: | ||
|- | |- | ||
|Leadville Colorado, 10K altitude | |Leadville Colorado, 10K altitude | ||
| − | |() | + | |(21%) |
| − | | | + | |69.6 kPa<BR/> |
|- style="background:#EFEFEF" | |- style="background:#EFEFEF" | ||
|Denver Colorado | |Denver Colorado | ||
| − | |() | + | |(21%) |
| − | | | + | |83.4 kPa<BR/> |
|- | |- | ||
|LaPaz | |LaPaz | ||
| − | |() | + | |(21%) |
| − | | | + | |62.0 kPa<BR /> |
|- style="background:#EFEFEF" | |- style="background:#EFEFEF" | ||
|[[Mercury Spacecraft|Mercury]] Program | |[[Mercury Spacecraft|Mercury]] Program | ||
Revision as of 20:02, 31 October 2008
| Work on this article has outpaced copyediting on it. You can help Lunarpedia by formatting, editing, or tidying it. |
There are several different types of atmospheres to consider.
- Lunar atmosphere[1]
- Earth's atmosphere[2]
- Atmospheric pressure on Earth[3]
- Cabin Pressurization[4][5][6]
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 | Oxygen Percentage | Pressure |
| Earth at Sea Level | (21%) | 101.3 kPa |
| Leadville Colorado, 10K altitude | (21%) | 69.6 kPa |
| Denver Colorado | (21%) | 83.4 kPa |
| LaPaz | (21%) | 62.0 kPa |
| Mercury Program | (100%) | 34.5 kPa |
| Geminii Program | (100%) | 34.5 kPa |
| Apollo Program | (100%) | 34.5 kPa |
| Skylab | (70%) | 34.5kPa |
| Space Shuttle | (28.5%) | 70.0 kPa |
Hazards: Lack of Breathable Atmosphere and Improper Pressure
Under most circumstances, if you don't get enough oxygen pressure you will get altitude sickness[7], aka Hypoxia.
In the extreme case of a severe leak in space, you have to consider what the Death Zone does to climbers on Everest [8].
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.
| Hazards |
|---|
