After the first humans prepare base on the Moon and successfully splashed back onto Earth , their deputation was n’t quite over . While it may seem a unknown melodic theme now give what we know about the inanimateness of the lunar surface , at the clip there were a lot of unknowns . Upon their return ,   the crowd ofApollo 11spent 21 days in quarantine just in case they had returned from our satellite carrying severe microorganism .

In the sixties , a new field of " astrobiology " was emerging , studying the potential for microbic life alfresco of our planet , though it was largely rib as a study .

" In response , exobiologists argued that only their field could palliate the dangerous risks and exploit the dandy opportunities of the new Space Age , " historiographer Dagomar Degroot of Georgetown University wrote in a new paper . " They stressed that microbial lifespan could be ubiquitous across the solar system . missionary station to other worlds therefore had to guard against both forward contamination , which could jeopardize the detection of extraterrestrial life sentence , and back taint , which could threaten life – include human living – on Earth . "

Though most call up the surface of the Moon to be lifeless , there were those – including Carl Sagan – who think it possible microbic life could still be alert just below the aerofoil . NASA , partly to reassure the populace , designed aLunar Receiving Laboratory(LRL ) where Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin , and Michael Collins would stay , along with any potentially risky microorganism from the Moon that could devastate life on Earth . Sagan , for his part , comparedthe possibility of microbic lifetime making its elbow room back to Earth to " the violence of the venereal disease epidemic that raged through Europe in the Middle Ages , or to the measles that took a heavy dying toll when it was introduce into Polynesia . ”

We all live what happened after that . All three astronauts were fine , and no alien life-time was released onto the planet that could endanger humans . But , according to the fresh paper , had lunar microorganisms actually existed , the operation to prevent them from retrovert to Earth would have belike have break down .

" In all probability , the micro-organism that seemed most probable to germinate on the Moon would have infected the cosmonaut , contaminated their ballistic capsule , get off into the Pacific Ocean , and breached containment in the LRL , just as mental testing on plants – and bacteria manifestly returned from the Moon – made newspaper headline across the United States , " Degroot writes in the paper . " The quarantine protocol looked like a success only because it was not needed . "

There were many problems with the procedure , sketch by Degroot . The capsule used to land the Apollo 11 crew in the Pacific Ocean vented itself as it come down , potentially releasing anymicrobesinto the standard atmosphere . Then when it disturb down in the sea , it was opened in lodge for them – and any deadly microbe – to escape into the sea .

“ If lunar organisms capable of regurgitate in the Earth ’s ocean had been present , we would have been pledge , ” former NASA terrestrial shelter officer John Rummel told theNew York Times .

The spaceman too could have been in danger as they give from the Moon to their craft .

" Moon junk was everywhere . Because it irritated the cutis and lung , both astronauts slept in their helmets and gloves that night . Removing all the dust was clearly impossible , " Degroot wrote .   " If it had harbored a pathogen , it would well have infected the astronauts . "

When astronauts come back to Earth , the film they used to takephotographsof the Moon was quickly processed for the public . While the film were send to be decontaminated using ethylene oxide gas , five technician found that they had been let on to moonshine dust while wield it .

NASA , who knew that contamination from foreign lifeforms was highly improbable , also likely knew that there were many failures in their quarantine routine . By the time it was over , 24 citizenry had been quarantined for potential contamination . Degroot writes that NASA , motivated by beating the Soviets to the Moon , did not take the time to create decent protections for spaceman , nor Earth .

" For almost a yr , tests and simulation had uncovered vital problems with the autoclave , and Union official had repeatedly warned that they urgently needed fixation , " Degroot write . " Yet there had not been enough time to groom them for the arrival of the Apollo 11 astronauts , the instruction faculty , celluloid powder magazine , and samples . Had Apollo 11 returned micro-organism from the Moon , they would likely have escaped . "

NASA has of line make on newguidelinesfor quarantine samples from outside of Earth since the Apollo program . Hopefully soon , we will be able to test them with samples from station much more likely to harbor life story .

The discipline is print in the journalIsis .