NASA Studies Flame and Combustion in Space to Understand Effect of Microgravity

NASA scientists safely created controlled flames in space for years. The research on fire spread will help to enhance the combustion understanding, with the protection of future explorers.
In the absence of Earth’s gravity, the behaviour of flames is different compared to Earth. In general, the warm air rises and gets replaced by cool air from below. This circulation effect doesn’t take place in microgravity, i.e. space. Combustion study in microgravity gives a rare opportunity for scientists to know about the fundamentals of combustion without the effect of gravity.

Astronauts Fire Safety

The scientists studied combustion in space to protect astronauts from fire accidents, explained NASA. Astronauts should be aware of what to do in case of a fire emergency. In contrast to Earth, astronauts cannot evacuate the spacecraft and dial 911. The environment of the spacecraft needs to be made as protective as possible with the help of materials that don’t burn. Research is crucial when some materials could even be more flammable in the partial gravitational environments.

Study of Flames Spread in Microgravity

International Space Station design embarks on the study of combustion while keeping the crew protected during the time of tests. The major study for flames aboard the station is the Combustion Integrated Rack (CIR). However, CIR includes small-scale flame studies and needs less crew interaction. SoFIE (BPS-powered Solid Fuel Ignition and Extinction) experiment has been designed to slot into the CIR and allows studies of ignition and flammability of solid spacecraft items. Large-scale flame studies were conducted aboard the Northrop Grumman Cygnus Spacecraft after departure from the station. These Saffire experiments helped to scale up the fire spread studies.

Saffire Experiments Findings

A breakthrough for scientists has been made by the Flame Extinguishment Experiment (FLEX), which was funded by NASA’s ISS National Lab and examined the spread of flames in various shapes using cool microgravity flames.

Under SoFIE Study, there were two tests conducted, SoFIE (GEL and MIST), that help determine the early flame development and spread of the fire. The combustion study in space can help in designing less-polluted vehicles on Earth too in future.

The research findings are aiding in the best structural design for space with fire safety standards in response to space, and not just Earth. The first research will be conducted on the Moon under FM2 tests, which will be the first flammability test on a body other than Earth. Findings will be based on the intensity of fire, the spread of flame and the strength of the flammable material.