Selection, engineering, ecophysiological responses, and performance of biotic space ecosystem components including: A) Plants, B) Fungi, C) Animals (including humans), and D) Microbes

Community ecology, species composition/selection, cultivation (CEA), biogeochemistry, and safety of groups of organisms that provide food for human or other animal consumption.

• Community ecology, species composition/selection, cultivation (CEA), biogeochemistry, and safety of groups of organisms that decompose and recover nutrients from liquid or solid organic waste.
• Methods for collecting, isolating, and maintaining safety of (stabilizing) waste streams

• Community ecology, species composition/selection, cultivation (CEA), biogeochemistry, and safety of groups of organisms that regulate biogenic gas cycles and air quality (gas composition, temp, pressure)
• Methods for controlling air circulation, mass transfer, and safety

• Community ecology, species composition/selection, cultivation (CEA), biogeochemistry, and safety of groups of organisms that regulate hydrologic cycles and water quality (composition, temp, pathogens)
• Methods for controlling water circulation, mass transfer, and safety

• Metabolism, nutritional requirements, waste production, and other space habitat human factors
• Supply chain and logistics for human tasks (recycling and/or generation of materials and supplies needed for human tasks; laundering, material recycling, 3D printing, biomanufacturing, etc.)

Study of the function and architecture (structure) of off-Earth ecosystems, including exchange of material and energy between biotic and abiotic components. Subtopics might include cost-benefit of levels of closure, system level properties and scaling factors, diversity, stability, resilience, safety (system level pathogen control or other safety), BLSS/CELSS (mesocosm) design and modeling, and biospherics/terraforming (planetary scale).

Technological approaches and capabilities needed to realize regenerable space habitat ecosystems for supporting human life in extra-terrestrial environments, including the design, development and operations of ground-based facilities, flight hardware and experiments that incorporate and regulate biological, physical, and chemical processors for space life support or other space-based ecosystems. Subtopics of interest may include component reliability, process monitoring and control (sensors and actuators), component integration and interfaces, human factors in space habitat design, test facilities (small microcosms to full scale space habitat analogs or mesocosms), astrocultural equipment (growth chambers, bioreactors, etc.), food processing and preparation, and maintenance/operations.

Programmatic, policy, and ethical considerations in study and development of space ecosystems including professional community organization and coordination, outreach, research funding and programs, planetary protection, and international cooperation.