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Evaluations of lunar samples for the presence of viable organismsSamples from the six successful Apollo lunar exploration missions were examined for the presence of biological formed elements and were used to inoculate a variety of culture media designed to promote growth of a broad spectrum of microorganisms. No evidence of viable organisms was obtained from any of these analyses. Following incubation of the lunar material-culture medium complexes, microbial growth dynamics studies were conducted with known test species to evaluate the possible presence of toxic factors. Only extracts of culture media which had been in contact with a mixture of lunar material from both Apollo 11 core tubes proved to be toxic to all species tested. Attempts to reproduce this toxic effect with individual Apollo 11 core samples obtained at other parts of the core and analyzed under somewhat different conditions were unsuccessful. In all, 48 different lunar samples were examined. These samples were collected at the lunar surface, in trenches, and in core samples to a depth of 297 cm.
Document ID
19740040207
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Proceedings
Authors
Taylor, G. R.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Health Services Div., Houston, Tex., United States)
Wooley, B. C.
(Becton-Dickinson Research Center Raleigh, N.C., United States)
Date Acquired
August 7, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1973
Subject Category
Biosciences
Meeting Information
Meeting: Lunar Science Conference
Location: Houston, TX
Start Date: March 5, 1973
End Date: March 8, 1973
Accession Number
74A22957
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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