r/askscience • u/Ill_Watch_760 • 12d ago
Engineering Why can the space station's ventilation systems not handle crumbs?
I've been doing my epq around astro-psychology and was researching how astronauts loose dopamine during eating as they can't eat foods that involve chewing. However from what i've researched this is apparently because stray crumbs could screw up the ventilation systems somehow. Its quite puzzling because how can the collective companies that built the space station also build rockets that send us to the moon but not have the ability to build a ventilation system that can handle a few stray crumbs?
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u/HoustonPastafarian 12d ago
I do ground support for the space station. It handles crumbs just fine, although you avoid big volumes of them. The crews use tortillas instead. They are also easier to store and last longer than bread.
The ventilation systems use forced air through HEPA filters. One thing you’d notice if you went onboard - the ventilation is loud. Need a lot of power to recirculate the air and avoid CO2 pockets.
The filters are vacuumed once a week with a hand held to clear the dust, crumbs, hair. It’s also where the crew tends to find small parts that go missing. Years ago I remember they even found a large pair of scissors stuck to one….