Primate Metabolic System for Shuttle

Metabolic research in the weightlessness of spaceflight is required to fill major gaps in our understanding of the role of gravity for life on earth. This paper presents an appraisal of the scientific need for metabolic research and reviews a proposed Primate Metabolic System (PMS) that is rack-mounted for early flight in the Shuttle mid-deck. The use of the PMS on early short-duration flights can serve as the first element of a metabolic research facility for animal studies in space and will permit a sound appraisal of the physiological well-being of animals introduced into the spaceflight environment while establishing baseline physiological data and hardware design verification prior to committment to longer duration manned flights.