Naked Science Forum
Life Sciences => Cells, Microbes & Viruses => Topic started by: Eric A. Taylor on 07/12/2009 08:05:22
-
When the Apollo 12 astronauts returned parts of the Survivor moon lander to Earth it was discovered that staph bacteria had hitched a ride to the moon and survived 2 years, supposedly, in the radiation filled vacuum on the moon.
How do we know it wasn't Al Bean or Pete Conrad who contaminated the parts? Or some lab tech on Earth for that matter after the parts were home?
Don't start with the quarantine of the crew before and after the mission. I already knew they were. I'm sure they carried some bugs with them to the moon as you can't kill all the bugs that live on or in any animal without killing the animal as well. Also I'm sure the space craft and suites were not cleaned to surgical standards.
-
HAHAHA,
I'm not trying to pick on Al Bean. But Richard Gordon did force Bean and Conrad to strip naked before he allowed them back into the CM. This was a real concern. Lunar regolith is extremely fine powder but the grains are very sharp, much like asbestos. It would create breathing problems for the crew and could have gotten into the electronics of the CM, which had already suffered a lightning strike.
None of the crew carried microscopes and I don't think they washed their hands before suiting up.
Besides heroism does not rule out sloppiness.
-
Not just cold but also heat. A lunar day is 28 or so Earth Days, so for 2 years the Survivor saw 26 or so Lunar days.