Development of a Mechanical Trash Compactor (Mpactor) for Human Space Exploration Missions

A pneumatically driven trash compaction system called the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) Compactor, intended for use in the micro-gravity environment, was developed at NASA Ames Research Center in 2007 for the NASA Constellation Program. This CEV Compactor is being further developed and was renamed the Mpactor (short for mechanical trash compactor). The Mpactor does not use heating or perform water removal and water recovery which eliminates the need for the complex ancillary hardware required to manage gaseous effluents or liquid water. The Mpactor is being used to gather engineering data that will allow engineers and planners to scale a future design for different mission scenarios and to evaluate different bag materials and designs.