system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
When the Apollo astronauts prepared to leave the surface of the moon, they discarded their EVA life support backpacks by tossing them out of the LM. How did they do this without exposing themselves to the Moon's vacuum?

With the LM's hatch open, its interior held no atmosphere, so the astronauts had to enter with their EVA backpacks attached and operative. Were they able to disconnect them, toss them out, close the hatch, and repressurize using only the residual oxygen in their suits, or did the LM have the necessary hardware to provide their suits with oxygen until the backpacks were discarded and the LM repressurized?
gpt
They only tossed the backpacks out, not the whole suit. the PLSS backpack was exactly that, a backpack that connected to the space suit via hoses and electrical connections. When inside the LM, the astronauts simply connected their suits to the LM’s life support system, negating the need for the backpack.