MOSCOW. Dec 29 (Interfax-AVN) - The issue of increasing the autonomy of aircraft's vital infrastructure systems for flights to outer space is being studied on the International Space Station (ISS), Oleg Kotov, deputy director of the Institute of Biomedical Problems (IBMP) of the Russian Academy of Sciences, told reporters.
"The farther we fly into space, the more autonomy we need for our systems. Increasing autonomy to 95-98% in virtually all area is one of the objectives we need to achieve. This cannot be done immediately, it is being achieved by the entire global community step-by-step, on individual elements, and some tasks are being completed on the ISS as a place to test such technologies," Kotov said.
Vital infrastructure systems need to be able to perform their intended functions, he said.
Vladimir Sychev, another deputy director for science at the IBMP, said the degree of complexity and autonomy of vital infrastructure systems of lunar explorers depends on several factors.
"It's one thing when a visit to a place lasts several days; after the visit, it's in autonomous mode. That's one system. A different system is needed when a person spends a long time somewhere. These are systems with various requirements and capabilities," Sychev said, adding that a universal system cannot be created.