Lowering the Guard Against the Invaders

Despite the hostile environment of the lunar surface, scientists cannot fully discount the possibility that living organisms exist on the moon. To guard against the possibility that potentially dangerous bugs will hitch a ride back to earth, NASA long ago devised a costly system to quarantine astronauts returning from the moon until it could be determined that they were not harboring alien diseases. Now, to the concern of some scientists, NASA has lowered its guard against a possible invasion by lunar organisms.

The original plans called for Apollo 11 astronauts to remain sealed inside their spacecraft until it was lifted to the deck of the recovery carrier. There, they would walk through a plastic tunnel running from the hatch of the spacecraft into a hermetically sealed van on the carrier deck. Following a similar transfer from the van to Houston's sealed Lunar Receiving Laboratory (TIME, Dec. 29, 1967), the astronauts were to continue under strict quarantine for a total of 21 days. Recently, however, NASA officials began to have second thoughts about the discomforts the astronauts would endure if they were confined too long in a hot spacecraft buffeted by ocean waves. They were also concerned about the possible risks involved in easing a massive aircraft carrier alongside the bobbing Apollo 11.

Deciding to trade one risk for another, NASA, without fanfare, changed its recovery plan. While Apollo 11 is still in the ocean, the hatch will be opened. As the astronauts emerge and climb aboard an attached raft, each will slip into a "biological isolation garment" brought along by a frogman who will be similarly outfitted. The suit is equipped with a filter that should block any organisms that the astronauts exhale. After a helicopter ride to the carrier deck, they will enter the van and follow the original quarantine plans.

There is an obvious flaw in the new procedure. If the astronauts and the Apollo craft are indeed harboring alien organisms, the bugs could escape into the air when the hatch is opened, or be washed into the ocean while the astronauts are donning their biological suits. If the organisms are fond of oxygen or nitrogen--or thrive in salt water --they could begin to spread and multiply. Most scientists agree that the chances of life on the moon are remote, and some believe that any moon organisms would have reached the earth long ago on particles ejected from the moon during meteor impacts. If they are wrong, however, and Apollo 11 returns to earth with unexpected visitors, NASA's revised plans may well be inadequate to cope with them.

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