The Mini Pressurised Logistics Module (MPLM), a cooperative project between NASA and ASI that will be designed, developed, produced, integrated and delivered by Alenia, is a pressurised volume devoted to the resupply and return of Space Station (SS)containerized cargo requiringapressurised environment, via the National Space Transportation System (NSTS).
As a servicer for the SS, the MPLM will have to accomplish several trips between Earth and SS in support of logistic needs. Since the active payloads launched with MPLM (freezers and refrigerators) require resources during the transportation phase inside the NSTS, the MPLM has the peculiar capacity to exchange power, data and fluids with the Orbiter before docking to SS. Once docked to SS, the MPLM will be required to provide its full performance, making use of the resources available from the SS Node; nevertheless, in this phase some of the MPLM functions are demanded from the SS. As a pressurised module, the MPLM design includes an Environmental Control System (ECS), made up of two sections: the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS), essentially devoted to providing a comfortable environment for the crew; and the Internal Thermal Control System (ITCS), formed by its active and passive sections, for heat collection and transportation from payloads and subsystems and to protect the MPLM from the external environment.