NASA Kennedy Space Center Lead Engineer David Bush, center, demos a small liquid-air filled backpack called CryoBA, short for Cryogenic Breathing Apparatus, at BCS Life Support in Titusville, Fla. The CryoBA and a larger Cryogenic Refuge Alternative Supply System, or CryoRASS, are being developed by a Kennedy engineering team in collaboration with The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health to provide miners with twice the amount of breathable and cooler air than traditional compressed systems. The technology also could be used for commercial applications, such as fire and military rescue operations, as well as NASA's future human spaceflight missions.
Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper