Space-based biomanufacturing has the potential to improve the sustainability of deep space exploration. To advance biomanufacturing, bioprocessing systems need to be developed for space applications. Here, commercial technologies were assessed to design space bioprocessing systems to supply a liquid amine carbon dioxide scrubber with active carbonic anhydrase produced recombinantly. Design workflows encompassed biomass dewatering of 1 L Escherichia coli cultures through to recombinant protein purification. Non-crew time equivalent system mass (ESM) analyses had limited utility for selecting specific technologies. Instead, bioprocessing system designs focused on minimizing complexity and enabling system versatility. Three designs that differed in biomass dewatering and protein purification approaches had nearly equivalent ESM of 357–522 kg eq. Values from the system complexity metric (SCM), technology readiness level (TRL), integration readiness level (IRL), and degree of crew assistance metric identified a simpler, less costly, and easier to operate design for automated biomass dewatering, cell lysis, and protein affinity purification.

天基生物制造有潜力提高深空探索的可持续性。为了推进生物制造，需要开发用于太空应用的生物处理系统。在这里，对商业技术进行了评估，以设计空间生物处理系统，为液体胺二氧化碳洗涤器提供重组产生的活性碳酸酐酶。设计工作流程包括 1 L大肠杆菌培养物的生物质脱水直至重组蛋白纯化。非乘员时间等效系统质量（ESM）分析对于选择特定技术的效用有限。相反，生物处理系统设计的重点是最大限度地降低复杂性并实现系统的多功能性。生物质脱水和蛋白质纯化方法不同的三种设计的 ESM 几乎相同，为 357-522 kg eq。系统复杂性指标 (SCM)、技术准备水平 (TRL)、集成准备水平 (IRL) 和机组人员协助程度指标的值确定了一种更简单、成本更低且更易于操作的自动生物质脱水、细胞裂解、和蛋白质亲和纯化。