The Spacesuit and Pressure Suit Homepage
The PLSS (Portable Life Support System) This is the PLSS (Portable Life Support System) that was used by the Apollo astronauts on their lunar EVAs, and it basically contained everything they needed to survive for about 4 hours independently of their craft. The gold tank covered by gray metal plating on the right of the picture is the oxygen tank, and the two smaller ones at the top are emergency reserves. The horizontal cylinder above the oxygen tank is the carbon dioxide filter, which used lithium hydroxide to filter the oxygen the astronauts exhaled. The rest of the system is pumps for air, water coolant, and the radio.

These two diagrams show the details of the PLSS system. The one on the left details the whole system, while the one on the right highlights the chest control panel.


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