The Exploration Spacesuit
or Exploration Extravehicular Mobility Unit (xEMU)

O=O Flow™​
A low pressure drop flowmeter for xEMU PLSS

NASA is developing the next generation of spacesuits, the xEMU.  A spacesuit includes all the systems necessary for keeping a person alive, which acts as the smallest crewed spacecraft.  Space Lab® was awarded a Phase II SBIR to develop an engineering demonstration unit (EDU) of a low pressure drop flowmeter for the xEMU PLSS ventilation loop.  This effort provided two novel technologies with patents under development.  The O=O Flow™ (pronounced "O2 flow") is an innovative, compact, and highly accurate flow meter that monitors flow rates for the oxygen rich environment that provides little restriction to the ventilation loop air flow.

Space Lab's O=O Flow™ Low Pressure Drop Flowmeter for xEMU PLSS

O=O Flow™ advances the current state-of-the-art, the Shuttle/ISS EMU, by providing a continuous measurement of the flow rate.  The current EMU design includes a flapper/microswitch that detects a single flow threshold. 

​See the Abstract for more information.

Photo Courtesy of NASA