Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit 11 Foot Vacuum Chamber Upgrades Test Results

Robert Marsch; Michael Lewandowski; Sean Miller

NASA NTRS · 20260005285

Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit 11 Foot Vacuum Chamber Upgrades Test Results

Robert Marsch·Michael Lewandowski·Sean Miller

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Abstract

The Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU) uncrewed 11 foot vacuum chamber testing evaluated the capabilities of the 11 foot vacuum chamber facility to support advanced spacesuit testing. The government reference design xEMU spacesuit provided a high-fidelity test article to demonstrate 11 foot vacuum chamber capabilities which included: gas loading of the chamber at varying simulated metabolic rates and open loop suit abort operations, Intravehicular Activity (IVA) vacuum access, consumables recharge, IVA vehicle-provided thermal loop cooling, and IVA vehicle-provided power. To demonstrate the xEMU airlock operations transitioning from IVA to EVA conditions without a test subject in the suit, test support equipment was developed to remotely actuate both the Exploration, Servicing, and Cooling Umbilical (ESCU) and the vacuum access umbilical. This test also evaluated the performance of the Exploration Portable Life Support System (xPLSS) at vacuum conditions. Data was collected and analyzed for carbon dioxide (CO2) scrubbing performance of the Rapid Cycle Amine (RCA) swingbed, for thermal regulation performance of the Suit Water Membrane Evaporator (SWME), and for sensor performance across the xPLSS. This paper will detail the findings of the testing performed with these upgrades which discussed previously laid out in ICES-2025-342.

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Robert Marsch, Michael Lewandowski, Sean Miller. Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit 11 Foot Vacuum Chamber Upgrades Test Results. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20260005285

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