GUARDING AGAINST MOON BUGS RETURNING ASTRONAUTS TO GO INTO 3-WEEK QUARANTINE

Press, Volume CIX, Issue 32034, 8 July 1969, Page 14

GUARDING AGAINST MOON BUGS RETURNING ASTRONAUTS TO GO INTO 3-WEEK QUARANTINE

(By

WALTER SULLIVAN,

in the “New York Times.“ Reprinted by arrangement)

(New York Times News Service copyright 1969)

The current Book-of-the-Month Club selection, entitled “The Andromeda Strain,” is a chilling account of what might happen if a spacecraft brought back to earth a strain of germs against which man has no defence.

The book, written by Michael Crichton, who has just completed his studies as a medical student at Harvard, will hardly gladden the hearts of those at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration for it dramatises the dangers of “back-contamination” that have suddenly become a subject of sharp debate on the eve of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon, the date of which—July 16—was approved last month.

When the astronauts come back from the moon they will go into a three-week quarantine to determine whether they returned with any germs that might endanger life on earth.

This mission, for the first time, will bring back specimens collected on another celestial body. Because of the fear that some sort of germ might be brought to earth in this manner, elaborate preparations have been made to quarantine the returning astronauts, their moon specimens and even their spacecraft.

What, in fact, are the chances that a returning spacecraft or astronaut might carry an agent endangering life on earth? As reflected in the term “backcontamination," concern over this possibility was a sequel to early cries of alarm regarding the possible contamination of Mars and even the moon by germs from earth.

Martian Organisms Early in the space programme it was realised that Mars either could be inhabited by organisms defenceless against microbial invaders from the earth, or it could be lifeless, yet rich in food for earth bacteria. In either case a bacterial stowaway from earth could permanently alter the biology of that planet before we learned whether Mars had any native life. American and Soviet scientists were agreed that this was unlikely because extreme temperature fluctuations, no appreciable atmosphere and no protection from solar radiation was considered very hostile to life. Nevertheless it was argued that organisms from earth might thrive a short distance beneath its surface.

Hence, early attempts were made to sterilise spacecraft slated for impact nr soft landing on the moon. However, these measures were then relaxed, partly because any sterilisation capable of killing bacteria or viruses embedded in electronics also endangered the reliability of that equipment.

Exposure To Sun It was also argued that any organisms deposited on the lunar surface were unlikely to survive. The moon, unlike the earth, is not protected by an atmosphere from devastating exposure to the sun’s powerful ultraviolet X-ray and particle emissions. These break down the complex chemicals of life to an extent that makes the survival of any life form on the moon seem highly improbable. Furthermore, as pointed out by Dr Philip H. Abelson, editor of the journal “Science,” in its current issue, impacts of large objects on the moon have thrown up debris that almost certainly has fallen to earth as meteorites without causing any epidemics. Despite the general belief that the presence of patho-gens—disease-causing agents —on the moon is highly improbable, an elaborate and costly programme has been developed to minimise the chances of back-contamina-tion when the astronauts return.

Tests For Pathogens For three weeks after their departure from the moon the three astronauts will be kept in quarantine. A small team of specialists will live with them in their isolation, subjecting them to tests in search of evidence that they might carry some form of pathogen. At the same time samples of lunar material will be injected into a variety, of animals, birds and fish. The samples will be fed to various species of plants in tests for biological effects. Last month, however, Dr Martin Alexander, professor of soil microbiology at Cornell University, said flatly: “I believe the quarantine programme is inadequate.” He spoke during a television panel discussion of the subject. His proposal is that, while the likelihood of pathogens on the moon is very small, the consequences of backcontamination could be disastrous. He would therefore delay a manned lunar landing until lunar samples are brought back by a remotecontrolled collecting device. According to Dr Alexander, just because plants and animals used in the quarantine tests, as well as the astronauts themselves, do not show any effects from lunar material during a three-week period is no assurance that such effects will not appear later. Preventive Measures

Dr Wolf Vishniak, chairman of the biology department at the University of Rochester, replied that, while no quarantine is flawless, the Apollo procedures are adequate. No amount of delay could make them fool-proof, he added. Dr Vishniak, who is on the government’s inter - agency committee on back-contamina-tion, outlined some of the preventive measures to be taken. The astronauts who land on the moon will leave their boots and gauntlets inside the lunar module, or L.M., that is cast loose before they return to earth. They will vacuum-clean each other before leaving the L.M. to crawl into the command module. A slow venting of gas from the L.M. will produce a breeze through the

tunnel from the command module, sweeping back any dust that they might carry with them. The astronauts will then remove the space suits they wore on the moon and stow them in sealed plastic bags. On the three-day return journey any microbes floating free in the spacecraft, if affixed to dust particles, will tend to be filtered by the air reconditioning system—or by the lungs of the astronauts themselves. Garments From Frogmen After splashdown, biological isolation garments will be tossed into the spacecraft by frogmen. Once these have

been donned the astronauts will breathe through bacterial filters. (The fact that they exhale into the atmosphere beforehand is probably tha, weakest link in the quarantine programme.) Then specimen boxes and astronauts are lifted to the aircraft carrier by helicopter. There they will enter an isolation van in which they will remain until the carrier reaches Pearl Harbour. The van will be flown to Texas and hauled by truck to the Manned Spacecraft Centre where it will “dock” with the quarantine section of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory so that the astronauts can transfer without exposure to open air.,