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Extravehicular Activity

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Life Support Systems for Humans in Space

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Abstract

Without an extravehicular activity (EVA) capability, the ISS could not have been constructed. Period. Not only is EVA vital for the construction of orbiting outposts, but it also enables essential maintenance and repair activities to be conducted. EVA equipment – the extravehicular mobility unit, or EMU – is basically a life support suit that includes a portable life support system capable of providing its occupant with oxygen and removing carbon dioxide, just like the life support system on board the ISS. These EMUs are highly complex and extremely expensive (each one costs about $10 million), and their design crosses myriad engineering disciplines. Not surprisingly, training for an EVA is a time-consuming and exacting task, with at least 6 hours of practice required for every 1 hour of planned EVA. Then there is the issue of prebreathing, a carefully planned procedure that must precede each and every EVA. We’ll learn about the prebreathe and all the other factors that comprise EVAs and EMUs in this chapter.

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Suggested Reading

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Embry Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, FL, USA

    Erik Seedhouse

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  1. Erik Seedhouse
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Correspondence to Erik Seedhouse .

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Seedhouse, E. (2020). Extravehicular Activity. In: Life Support Systems for Humans in Space. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52859-1_6

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