Cockroaches Played An Unexpected Part In A Moon Dust Auction

During the Apollo program, and especially during Apollo 11, NASA wanted to ensure that the Moon was a safe place for us to send humans to. That is the reason the Apollo 11 astronauts were required to quarantine for 21 days after arriving back on Earth (via CNN). According to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, this was done to protect Earth from any “Moon germs” that may have been brought back with them. As scientists discovered later, the Moon was void of any life, so the astronauts were safe.

Before scientists understood that the Moon was free of any harmful germs, researchers at NASA closely studied the lunar samples brought back from Apollo 11 to test them for contaminants. According to Collect Space, Moon dust samples were fed to several animals, including mice, fish, and the infamous cockroaches. Later, entomologist Marion Brooks (later Brooks-Wallace), dissected and studied the cockroaches to understand if they may have been infected by something from the Moon. (via Live Science). Nothing unusual was found, and the program carried on with several more Moon missions. 

ncG1vNJzZmhqZGy7psPSmqmorZ6Zwamx1qippZxemLyue82erqxnk6SwrL7OmpqhnaNiva2t2J6bZpmeYsKvsdepnJyslZl6sa3RrWSipl2Weq67zqdkna2jqXqiwcKtoKimXw%3D%3D