Apollo 11 crew in quarantine

[Sticks]

I was watching the NASA archive footage from my copy of The Dish, and it referenced the crew of A11 being in a quarantine pod for a number of days

Who dreamed up that idea
How long were they incarcerated
Did the other Apollo crews have to be quarantined after A11

[JayUtah]

The notion of quarantine was in response to fears of back contamination. It was mostly for public consumption, since scientists generally did not believe there could be any space germs that would affect Earthlings. Organisms have to evolve alongside those they are meant to afflict.

Quarantines ranged from 21 days down to 3 and then were phased out entirely for the J-missions.

Ed Mitchell said he liked the quarantine because it meant several days of nothing but rest after a long, tiring mission.

[gwiz]

There was something of a hole in the quarantine proceedure. After splashdown and arrival of the swimmers, the CM hatch was opened and three isolation suits were passed in. The crew donned the suits, left the CM and took a helicopter ride back to the recovery carrier, where they entered the quarantine quarters. The outsides of the suits could thus be contaminated by contact with the CM interior or handling by the crew, and any moonbugs in the CM could escape though the open hatch. I think there was some spraying with antiseptic somewhere in the procedure, but I can't see this being adequate in the circumstances. In addition, the CM atmosphere had already been mixed with the outside air though the pressure equalisation valves during the descent, though at this stage the bugs would have needed to go upstream against the incoming air.

[JayUtah]

Yes, the (literal) hole in the quarantine procedure is widely acknowledged now, and is a testament to there not really being any way to prevent back contamination. Any airborne space bugs would have had ample opportunity to mix with the Earth environment. The quarantine procedure was mostly a show.

[Kiwi]

The Apollo 11 Press Kit:

Page 181
CONTAMINATION CONTROL PROGRAM

In 1966 an Interagency Committee on Back Contamination (ICBC) was established. The function of this Committee was to assist NASA in developing a program to prevent the contamination of the Earth from lunar materials following manned lunar exploration. The committee charter included specific authority to review and approve the plans and procedures to prevent back contamination. The committee membership includes representatives from the Public Health Service, Department of Agriculture, Department of the Interior, NASA, and the National Academy of Sciences.

Over the last several years NASA has developed facilities, equipment and operational procedures to provide an adequate back contamination program for the Apollo missions. This program of facilities and procedures, which is well beyond the current state-of-the-art, and the overall effort have resulted in a laboratory with capabilities which have never previously existed. The scheme of isolation of the Apollo crewmen and lunar samples, and the exhaustive test programs to be conducted are extensive in scope and complexity.

The Apollo Back Contamination Program can be divided into three phases. The first phase covers the procedures which are followed by the crew while in flight to reduce and, if possible, eliminate the return of lunar surface contaminants in the command module.

The second phase includes spacecraft and crew recovery and the provisions for isolation and transport of the crew, spacecraft, and lunar samples to the Manned Spacecraft Center. The third phase encompasses the quarantine operations and preliminary sample analysis in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.

A primary step in preventing back contamination is careful attention to spacecraft cleanliness following lunar surface operations. This includes use of special cleaning equipment, stowage provisions for lunar-exposed equipment, and crew procedures for proper housekeeping.

Lunar Module Operations — The lunar module has been designed with a bacterial filter system to prevent contamination of the lunar surface when the cabin atmosphere is released at the start of the lunar exploration.

Page 183
Prior to reentering the LM after lunar surface exploration, the crewmen will brush any lunar surface dust or dirt from the space suit using the suit gloves. They will scrape their overboots on the LM footpad and while ascending the LM ladder dislodge any clinging particles by a kicking action.

After entering the LM and pressurizing the cabin, the crew will doff their portable life support system, oxygen purge system, lunar boots, EVA gloves, etc.

The equipment shown in Table I as jettisoned equipment will be assembled and bagged to be subsequently left on the lunar surface. The lunar boots, likely the most contaminated items, will be placed in a bag as early as possible to minimize the spread of lunar particles.

Following LM rendezvous and docking with the CM, the CM tunnel will be pressurized and checks made to insure that an adequate pressurized seal has been made. During this period, the LM, space suits, and lunar surface equipment will be vacuumed. To accomplish this, one additional lunar orbit has been added to the mission.

The lunar module cabin atmosphere will be circulated through the environmental control system suit circuit lithium hydroxide (Li-OH) canister to filter particles from the atmosphere. A minimum of five hours weightless operation and filtering will reduce the original airborne contamination to about 10-15 per cent.

To prevent dust particles from being transferred from the LM atmosphere to the CM, a constant flow of 0.8 lbs/hr oxygen will be initiated in the CM at the start of combined LM/CM operation. Oxygen will flow from the CM in to the LM then overboard through the LM cabin relief valve or through spacecraft leakage. Since the flow of gas is always from the CM to the LM, diffusion and flow of dust contamination in to the CM will be minimized. After this positive gas flow has been established from the CM, the tunnel hatch will be removed.

The CM pilot will transfer the lunar surface equipment stowage bags in to the LM one at a time. The equipment listed in Table 1 as equipment transferred will then be bagged using the "Buddy System" and transferred back in to the CM where the equipment will be stowed. The only equipment which will not be bagged at this time are the crewmen's space suits and flight logs.

[Kiwi]

Continued:

Page 187
Following the transfer of the LM crew and equipment, the spacecraft will be separated and the three crewmen will start the return to Earth. The separated LM contains the remainder of the lunar exposed equipment listed in Table 1.

Command Module Operations — Through the use of operational and housekeeping procedures the command module cabin will be purged of lunar surface and/or other particulate contamination prior to Earth reentry. These procedures start while the LM is docked with the CM and continue through reentry in to the Earth's atmosphere.

The LM crewmen will doff their space suits immediately upon separation of the LM and CM. The space suits will be stowed and will not be used again during the trans-Earth phase unless an emergency occurs.

Specific periods for cleaning the spacecraft using the vacuum brush have been established. Visible liquids will be removed by the liquid dump system. Towels will be used by the crew to wipe surfaces clean of liquids and dirt particles. The three ECS suit hoses will be located at random positions around the spacecraft to insure positive ventilation, cabin atmosphere filtration, and avoid partitioning.

During the transearth phase, the command module atmosphere will be continually filtered through the environmental control system lithium hydroxide canister. This will remove essentially all airborne dust particles. After about 63 hours operation essentially none (10-90 per cent) of the original contaminates will remain.

Lunar Mission Recovery Operations

Following landing and the attachment of the flotation collar to the command module, the swimmer in a biological isolation garment (BIG) will open the spacecraft hatch, pass three BIGs into the spacecraft, and close the hatch.

The crew will don the BIGs and then egress into a liferaft containing a decontaminant solution. The hatch will be closed immediately after egress. Tests have shown that the crew can don their BIGs in less than 5 minutes under ideal sea conditions. The spacecraft hatch will only be open for a matter of a few minutes. The spacecraft and crew will be decontaminated by the swimmer using a liquid agent.

Page 188
Crew retrieval will be accomplished by helicopter to the carrier and subsequent crew transfer to the Mobile Quarantine Facility. The spacecraft will be retrieved by the aircraft carrier.

Biological Isolation Garment — Biological isolation garments (BIGs), will be donned in the CM just prior to egress and helicopter pick-up and will be worn until the crew enters the Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard the primary recovery ship.

The suit is fabricated of a light weight cloth fabric which completely covers the wearer and serves as a biological barrier. Built in to the hood area is a face mask with a plastic visor, air inlet flapper valve, and an air outlet biological filter.

Two types of BIGs are used in the recovery operation. One is worn by the recovery swimmer. In this type garment, the inflow air (inspired) is filtered by a biological filter to preclude possible contamination of support personnel. The second type is worn by the astronauts. The inflow gas is not filtered, but the outflow gas (respired) is passed through a biological filter to preclude contamination of the air.

Mobile Quarantine Facility — The Mobile Quarantine Facility is equipped to house six people for a period up to 10 days. The interior is divided into three sections — lounge area, galley, and sleep/bath area. The facility is powered through several systems to interface with various ships, aircraft, and transportation vehicles. The shell is air and watertight. The principal method of assuring quarantine is to filter effluent air and provide a negative pressure differential for biological containment in the event of leaks.

Non-fecal liquids from the trailer are chemically treated and stored in special containers. Fecal wastes will be contained until after the quarantine period. Items are passed in or out of the MQF through a submersible transfer lock. A complete communications system is provided for intercom and external communications to land bases from ship or aircraft. Emergency alarms are provided for oxygen alerts while in transport by aircraft for fire, loss of power and loss of negative pressure.

Specially packaged and controlled meals will be passed into the facility where they will be prepared in a micro-wave oven. Medical equipment to complete immediate postlanding crew examination and tests are provided.

[nomuse]

The Hornet is in my neighborhood -- I have memory of seeing the quarantine unit for 11 last time I was there, but according to their webpage they are still in process of putting the MOQ from Apollo 14 on display.

[JayUtah]

The Apollo 14 MQF is fully installed on USS Hornet and is open to visitors. You can step inside the galley area and look down the bunk corridor to the lavatory facilities.

Ed Mitchell has autographed the galley table. I'll post some pictures as soon as I remember where I put them.