We Did This Before - The Lunar Receiving Laboratory (1969-1972)

The six Apollo missions to the lunar surface, between 1969 and 1972, returned 2,196 individual rock, soil and core samples, with a total mass of 381.69 kg. The astronauts selected samples, photographed the rocks and soils prior to collection, packaged them in uniquely identified containers, and transported them to the Lunar Module (Fig. 1). Figure 1. Apollo astronaut collecting soil sample (NASA photo AS 12-49-7278) One of many unknowns prior to the Apollo landings concerned the possibility of life, its remains, or its organic precursors on the surface of the Moon. While the existence of lunar organisms was considered highly unlikely, a program of biological quarantine and testing was instituted starting with Apollo 11. When the first missions returned to Earth the astronauts, their spacecraft, and the samples they collected entered biological isolation aboard the recovery ship. From there they were transported, still in isolation, to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (LRL) at the Manned Spacecraft Center (now the Johnson Space Center). The LRL had four specific functions [1]: Distribute samples to the scientific community Perform time-critical sample measurements Permanently store a portion of each sample Perform quarantine testing of the samples, spacecraft, and astronauts to assess the presence of indigenous life or biological hazards The LRL comprised 8,000 m