Issues in the Development of Automatic Thermal Control for Portable Life Support Systems

Long-duration, frequent extravehicular activity (EVA) will require automatic thermal control and improved thermo-mechanical design of portable life support system (PLSS) packs and suits. This paper addresses the control problem in EVA, previous attempts to develop automatic control, and relevant issues in human thermoregulation and is directed toward the development of a generalized computer simulation test bed for the investigation of alternative PLSS control strategies and designs.