NASA lights fire on spacecraft to test safety measures in lead up to 2024 Moon mission

In an experiment to make future missions safer for astronauts, NASA lit a fire in a craft to test how fire could be controlled if it were to happen in real life in . Under ir research program of trying to understand behaviour of fire in , NASA has launched an experiment called craft Fire Safety Demonstration Project IV, or Saffire IV. In a set of 6 experiments NASA would test ory and strength of a "smoke eater" and a carbon dioxide scrubber inside cargo craft, Cygnus, designed by rthrop Grumman.

Cygnus capsules are commonly used by NASA to send experiments, food and or necessities to astronauts on  International Station. With help of capsule which would be studied as a proto, NASA would be able to test fire safety measures ahe of ir 2024 Artemis program to land astronauts on moon.

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"We want to take what we learned from first three Saffire experiments and see how flames spre and grow in or craft conditions," Gary Ruff, Saffire project manr at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, said in a statement. "We also loed Saffire IV with more diagstic equipment to see how effectively we can detect fires, measure combustion products, and evaluate future fire response and clean-up techlogies," he ded. 

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How it works

Saffire IV experiment built by Zin Techlogies Inc. in Cleveland works with help of sensors fitted inside Cygnus' cabin which constantly monitor its oxygen and carbon dioxide levels along with air temperatures, smoke concentration and diameter of smoke plume. Cygnus also deploys a special test filter nicknamed "smoke eater" inside its cabin. entire cabin is fitted with four cameras to study growth of flame in . 

experiments are also being used to teach flight experts on how to reign in a fire if it does break out in ir craft miles away from earth with evacuation t being an option. Saffire IV's results are still being analyzed by NASA which released a preliminary video showing growth of flames in .  next two Saffire experiments are scheduled for October 2020 and March 2021.

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