SpaceRef - Astrobiology and Life Science - Planetary Protection

SpaceRef - Astrobiology and Life Science - Planetary Protection - Apollo Program

25 Years of Curating Moon Rocks - This article describes the history of the Lunar Receiving Laboraotry at Johnson Space Center.

Complexities of Quarantine - A Description of the difficulties encountered as hardware and procedures were established to prevent the possible contamination of earth by putative lunar life forms. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Congress Objects to the Receiving Laboratory - Describes how Congress objected to NASA's plans to build a dedicated sample return and quarantine facility for the Apollo program. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Early Plans for Lunar Sample Management - "Preliminary definitions of the lunar science program noted the importance of laboratory studies on returned lunar material, but offered no suggestions as to how samples should be collected and handled. Neither within nor outside NASA did anyone give serious thought to the details of preserving lunar samples in near-pristine condition." From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Earth microbes on the moon - A news story from September 1998 by NASA that describes how spores of the bacterium Streptococcus mitis managed to survive on the surface of the Moon for 3 years aboard the Surveyor spacecraft until returned aboard Apollo 12. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center

Introduction to Apollo Quarantine Procedures - "NASA came under pressure from space biologists and the U.S. Public Health Service to protect the earth against the introduction of alien microorganisms that might exist in lunar soil." From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Lunar Receiving Laboratory - A discussion of laboratory development during 1968 as lunar missions were being prepared. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Lunar Receiving Laboratory Operations - A Description of the receipt and processing of lunar samples from the first two lunar missions: Apollo 11 and Apollo 12. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Lunar Receiving Laboratory: Management and Sample Handling - A discussion of laboratory development during the flight hiatus brought on by the Apollo 1 fire in 1967. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility - This article describes the lunar sample handling facilities at NASA's Johnson Space Center.

Problems with Back-Contamination Control - A Description of the continuing difficulties encountered as hardware and procedures were established to prevent the possible contamination of earth by putative lunar life forms. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

Staffing the Lunar Receiving Laboratory - A discussion of how personnel were recruited to staff and operate the the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

The Astronauts in Quarantine - A Description of the quarantine of the Apollo 11 crew upon their return to Earth. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"

The Specter of "Back-Contamination" - A discussion of how fears of back contamination (contamination of Earth) by putative lunar organisms affected receiving laboratory design. From "Where No Man Has Gone Before: A History of Apollo Lunar Exploration: NASA SP-4214"