NASA/CR–2004–208938 Lunar Receiving Laboratory Project History Susan Mangus Muskingum College New Concord, Ohio William Larsen Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas June 2004 THE NASA STI PROGRAM OFFICE . IN PROFILE Since its founding, NASA has been dedicated to the • CONFERENCE PUBLICATION. Collected advancement of aeronautics and space science. The papers from scientific and technical conferences, NASA Scientific and Technical Information (STI) symposia, seminars, or other meetings sponsored Program Office plays a key part in helping NASA or cosponsored by NASA. maintain this important role. • SPECIAL PUBLICATION. Scientific, technical, The NASA STI Program Office is operated by or historical information from NASA programs, Langley Research Center, the lead center for NASA’s projects, and mission, often concerned with scientific and technical information. The NASA STI subjects having substantial public interest. 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Hanover, MD 21076-1320 NASA/CR–2004–208938 Lunar Receiving Laboratory Project History Susan Mangus Muskingum College New Concord, Ohio William Larsen Johnson Space Center Houston, Texas June 2004 Contents Introduction........................................................................................................................ 1 Origins of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory Concept .................................................... 3 Growing Interest in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory Design and Concerns about Back Contamination............................................................................................... 6 Designing the Lunar Receiving Laboratory .................................................................... 8 Creation of the Interagency Committee on Back Contamination................................. 15 NASA Justifies the Lunar Receiving Laboratory to Congress...................................... 17 Further Complications in the Design of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory: Scientists vs. Engineers...................................................................................................... 20 Creating an Organizational Structure for the Lunar Receiving Laboratory.............. 24 Construction of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory .......................................................... 27 The Interagency Committee on Back Contamination and LRL Construction............ 32 LRL Management and the Rush for Certification: Persa R. Bell and Richard S. Johnston................................................................................................... 35 Continued Competition Within the LRL ........................................................................ 39 The Certification Process.................................................................................................. 42 Summary of LRL Operations During the Apollo Missions ........................................... 51 Conclusion.......................................................................................................................... 55 Endnotes............................................................................................................................. 57 i Figures 1 This drawing illustrates the complex design of the LRL, with its several different components including Lunar Sample Laboratory, Astronaut Reception Area, Radiation Laboratory, and Support and Administration................................ 3 2 A concept drawing of how the Crew Reception Area of the LRL would be organized............................................................................................................. 26 3 A concept drawing of the various components of the LRL..................................... 27 4 A concept drawing of the design of the LRL’s Radiation Counting Laboratory.... 37 5 This photograph shows the complex design of the LRL’s vacuum system ............ 44 6 This photograph shows a technician working with plants in the LRL. This part of the laboratory was home to the back contamination testing ........................ 49 7 The first lunar samples arriving at the LRL after Apollo 11 ................................... 52 8 This drawing illustrates the complex process of transporting lunar samples from the recovery zone to the LRL and eventually to the PIs for research............. 55 ii Acronyms CDC Centers for Disease Control GSFC Goddard Space Flight Center ICBC Interagency Committee on Back Contamination JSC Johnson Space Center LCF Lunar Curatorial Facility LRL Lunar Receiving Laboratory LSAPT Lunar Sample Analysis Planning Team LSI Lunar Science Institute LSRL Lunar Sample Receiving Laboratory MSC Manned Spaceflight Center NAS National Academy of Sciences OSSA Office of Space Science and Applications PET Lunar Sample Preliminary Examination Team PHS Public Health Service PI Principal Investigator UHCL University of Houston-Clear Lake USGS United States Geological Survey iii iv Introduction In his “Urgent National Needs” speech to Congress in 1961, President John F. Kennedy committed the United States to putting Americans on the Moon by the end of the decade.1 At that point, the lunar program was still in its infancy. As a result of this speech, Congress devoted more resources to making Kennedy’s goal a reality. Space exploration was then taking place in the context of the Cold War. The United States was competing with the Soviet Union in achiev- ing major space feats. It often seemed like the Soviets had the advantage in space exploration in the early years, as they first orbited a satellite, Sputnik, in 1957 and sent the first human, Yuri Gagarin, into space on April 12, 1961. Kennedy chose a major space feat, putting the first humans on the Moon, as a way of proving to the world that the United States was the leader in space. The Apollo Program’s original purpose was to take Americans to the Moon and back to Earth, and in the early days planners did not give attention to any additional objectives. It was not long until some scientists began to see the larger potential of the Apollo Program. Very little was known about the Moon in the 1960s. Most astronomers had focused their studies on objects farther away—the Sun, other stars, and distant planets, but there was still a significant amount of curiosity about the Moon and what it might tell scholars about the early history of the Earth. If the United States was going to send astronauts to the Moon, according to these scien- tists, attention should be given to the scientific benefits of such a journey. Pressure from outside NASA began to build for the development of more specific scientific objectives for the Apollo Program. Geologists believed that samples from the lunar surface should be returned to Earth for further study, adding another benefit to the Apollo Program beyond the prestige offered to the first country to land humans on the Moon. A number of scientists also raised concerns about the risk of back contamination from lunar samples. In the early years of the Apollo program, however, the main focus was on solving the technological challenges of sending astronauts to the Moon and returning them safely to Earth. NASA paid little attention to scientific goals or to concerns of the larger scientific community about possible back contamination from the Moon. It was not until 1964 that NASA officials recognized the need for a facility to process lunar samples along with procedures to reduce any associated risks of contamination. Beginning in early 1964, NASA scientists and administrators at the Manned Spaceflight Center (MSC, later known as Johnson Space Center or JSC) began to formulate a simple vision for a Lunar