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    ESA > Our Activities > Human Spaceflight > Human Spaceflight Research

    Pulmonary Function System (PFS)

    To optimise the scientific benefits from the utilisation of the European Physiology Module Facility (EPM) and the American Human Research Facility (HRF), both facilities for life sciences comprise as much as possible complementary sets of instruments that are made available to all international partners for scientific research. Moreover, after their respective launches, EPM, HRF-1 and HRF-2 are co-located in the European Columbus laboratory, allowing for combined experiments.

    In order to enhance the cooperation between ESA and NASA an exchange of hardware has been initiated. In this framework, ESA has provided the PFM/PAM Science Module to NASA for integration in the HRF-2 rack.

    The Pulmonary Function System (PFS) is a joint ESA and NASA pulmonary physiology instrument.

    It comprises:

    • The Photoacoustic Analyzer Module (PAM) *
    • The Pulmonary Function Module (PFM) *
    • The Gas Analyzer System for Metabolic
    • Analysis Physiology (GASMAP)**
    • The Gas Delivery System (GDS)**

    * ESA developed ** NASA developed

    Reconfiguration allows building of two respiratory instruments:

    • The Mass-spectrometer-based Analyser System (MAS), utilizes the GASMAP, the PFM and the GDS.
    • The Photoacoustic-based Analyzer System (PAS), utilizes the PAM, PFM and the GDS.

    For support of European experiments with the PFS, ESA has appointed Damec as the responsible operational User Support and Operations Centre (USOC), called Facility Support Centre (FSC). Damec supports and monitors PFS activities from the control facility at the Damec premises in Odense, Denmark.

    The PFS system allows measuring following respiratory parameters:

    • Breath-by-breath measurements of VO2, VCO2, VE
    • Diffusing capacity of the lung for CO
    • Expiratory Reserve Volume
    • Forced Expired Spirometry
    • Functional Residual Capacity
    • Respiratory exchange ratio VO2/VCO2.
    • Residual Volume
    • Total Lung Capacity
    • Tidal Volume
    • Alveolar Ventilation
    • Vital Capacity
    • Volume of pulmonary capillary blood
    • Dead-space ventilation
    • Cardiac output
    • Fractional inspiratory and expiratory volumes, FIO2 and FEO2, FICO2 and FECO2

    Portable Pulmonary Function System (Portable PFS)


    The Portable PFS has similar capabilities as the PFS, but is designed for use in all parts of ISS i.e. it’s portable and not mounted in a rack (like PFS). This makes it useful for metabolic measurements during exercise, for example.

    Last update: 15 May 2009

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