the planetary quarantine program origins and achievements, 1956 - 1973

8/8/2019 The Planetary Quarantine Program Origins and Achievements, 1956 - 1973

1/58

N A S A S P - 4 9 0 2

originsand achievements

ThePlanetaryQuarantine

Program

1956-1973

H1/91Unclas05752

A T A T I O N A L A E R O N A U T I C S A N D S P A C E A D M I N I S T R A T I O N


2/58

T H EPlanetary QuarantineP R O G R A M 1956-1973


3/58

NASA SP-4902

The PlanetaryQuarantineProgram

originsand achievements

1956-1973

C H A R L E S R. PHILLIPS

Scientific an d Technical I n f o r m a t i o n O f f i c e 1974N A T I O N A L AERONAUTICS A N D SPACE ADMINISTRATIONWashing ton , D.C.


4/58

Fo r sale by the S u p e r i n t e n d e n t o f D o c u m e n t s , U . S . G o v e r n m e n t P r i n t i n g O f f i c e ,W a s h i n g t o n , D.C. 20402, Price 85 ce nt s Sto ck N um be r 3300-00578L i b r a r y o f C o n g r e ss C a t a lo g C a r d N u m b e r 74-600 134


5/58

ForewordTHIS IS ONE OF TWO REPORTS.deal ing w i t h the e v e n t s w h i c h led up to thee s t a b l i s hm e n t o f a P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e P r o gr a m in the Uni ted Sta tes ,the d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h i s p r o g r a m , and i t s s ta tus as of the s u m m e r o f1973. T he reports p a r t i a ll y f u lf i l l t he N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p a c eA d m i n i s t r a t io n 's (N A S A 's) r e q u i r e m e n t t h a t the program be recordedfully s o t h a t r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t n e e d n o t be r e p e a t e d i n t h ef u t u r e . Both were p repared fo r the NASA P la n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e Off iceby t he S c ie n c e C o m m u n i c a t i o n D i vi si o n o f th e G e o r ge W a s hi n g t o nU n i v e r si ty Me d i c a l C e n t e r , under C o n t r a c t NSR09-010-027. The o t h e rreport, w r i t t e n by M o r to n W e r be r and en t i t led Objec t ives and Mo d e l sof the Planetary Q u a r a n t i n e Program (NASA SP-344), will bepubl i shed in the NASA ge n e r a l t e c hn i c a l s e r i e s .N o w t h a t the A p o l lo L u n a r E x p lo r a t i o n P r o g r a m has c o m e to a halt,a t le a st t e m p o r a r i l y , a n d t he e x p lo r a t i o n o f the p l a n e t s i s p r o c e e d i n g o na n es tabl i shed , a l though n o t a c c e l e r a t e d , ba si s, i t is t i m e to t a k e s to c k o fw h e r e w e s t a n d t o d a y .O n e o f t he m o s t e x c i t i n g p o ss ib le d i sc o v e r i e s in s p a c e e x p l o r a t i o nwould be the d e t e c t i o n of ext ra ter res t r ia l l i fe . The Plane ta ryQ u a r a n t i n e P r o g r a m , b o t h n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l , i s a n o u t g r o w t ho f g r e a t s c i e n t i f i c c o n c e r n t h a t the s e a r c h f o r s u c h l i f e m i g h t bec o m p r o m i s e d by t e r r e st r ia l m i c r o b i al c o n t a m i n a t i o n d u r i n g e a rlys pa c e e x p lo r a t i o n p r o j e c t s be f o r e e f f ec t iv e l ife d e t e c t i o n s ys te m s c o u ldbe a d d e d to the s p a c e p r o gr a m .

T h e ve r y t e r m " p la n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e " shows h o w t h e p r o g r a m h a se x p a n d e d . T h e f i r s t d i s c u s s i o n s a n d e f f o r t s u s e d t h e t e r m"sterilization." T he n s t e r i li z a ti o n , a n a bs o l u t e t e r m , w a s g r a d u a l l yr e p l a c e d by "probability o f c o n t a m i n a t i o n . " T he c o n s i d e r a t io n t h a t incases w h e r e m i c r o o r g a n i s m s c o u ld n o t be killed t h e y could poss ibly bec o n f i n e d led to the c o n c e p t o f "quarantine." W h e n t r a j e c t o r y c o n t r o l


6/58

came into use, f lybys could be kept at sufficient distance from celestialbodies to avoid transfer of contaminants, while getting close enough togain significant scientific information.

This report outlines United States effort in planetary quarantine,beginning with the expressions of alarm by biologists, then discussinghow a program was put together and implemented, and finallyindicating the academic, governmental, institutional, and industrialagencies and people involved. It ends with a brief summary of theaccomplishments and present status of the Planetary QuarantineProgram and will, we trust, serve as a partial explanation of how theplanetary quarantine effort evolved and reached its present position.

LAWRENCE B. HALLNASA-Planetary Quarantine- - - Off i ce r - - - - - - -National Aeronautics and Space

Administration


7/58

ContentsIntroduction 1Scientific Concern Over Possible Contamination 3Early Beginnings of the Space Program 7NASA and Its Planetary Quarantine Responsibilities 9NASA Advisory Croups 15

American Institute of Biological Sciences 16NASA Life Sciences Committee 19

Planetary Quarantine Research 21Implementation and Policy Directives 25Program Accomplishments 35

Lunar Missions 35Planetary Missions 37

References 41Appendix PlanetaryQuarantine Contractual Research .... 45

vii


8/58

IntroductionT H E PRESENT-DAY SPACE PROGRAM can be c o n s i d e r e d an outgrowtho f t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f m i li t ar y r o c k e t r y d u r i n g W o r ld W a r I I a n d t h ed e c a d e t ha t f o l lo w e d . I t is t ru e t ha t n o n m i l i t a ry ro c k e t r e s e a rc h ha dt a k e n place earlier. S p a c e e x p lo ra t i o n wo u ld p ro ba bly ha v e c o m ea b o u t e v e n t u a l ly , e v e n wi t ho u t t h i s d e v e lo p m e n t , bu t t he r e a d yavai labi l i ty o f t h e n e c e s s a ry ha rd wa re a n d e n g i n e e r i n g te c h n o lo g ygreatly a c c e l e r a t e d the f i r s t v e n t u re s i n t o s p a c e . T he logic behind aspace p ro g r a m , h o w e v e r , w as m u c h m o r e th a n a desire f o r a s p e c t a c u la re n g i n e e r i n g f e a t o r a m a t t e r o f p o l i ti c a l r i va lry be t we e n m a jo r p o we rs ,al though these m a y have been s i g n i f i c a n t f a c t o r s . E a r t h - b o u n da s t r o n o m y had i t s l i m i t a t i o n s , a n d m a n y i m p o r t a n t s c ie n t i f ic q ue s ti o n sc o u ld be a n s w e r e d o n ly by a c t u a l e x p lo ra t i o n o f space . No t the least o fthese q u e s ti o n s c o n c e rn e d b io lo gy. W a s l if e r e s t r ic t e d o n ly t o t hep l a n e t E a r t h ?M an ha d always t h o u g h t n o t . T he a n c i e n t s ha d p o p u la t e d the sky, a shad la t e r s c i e n c e f i c t io n w r i te r s , e x e m p li f i e d by H . G . Wellsin his Warof the Wo rlds . Mo de rn -day bio logis ts spec ula ted on o t he r wo r ld s be i n gp o p u la t e d t o o , but t h e y th o u g h t m a i n l y in t e r m s o f m i c r o o r g a n i s m s o rs i m p l e l i f e f o r m s w h i c h w o u l d be the f i rs t to evolve an d wo u ld bep r e se n t w h e t h e r h i g h e r f o r m s e vo lv e d o r n o t . T h e y w e r e c o n c e r n e d le stin the rush toenter space the i r sc ience w ould suf fe r . Af te r all, had notthe War of the Worlds been won by the ba c t e r i a of E a r t h? Co u ld t h i sc o n f l i c t n o t b e d u p l i c a t e d , say on M a rs , by ca re lessness in ear ly spacev e n t u r e s b e f o r e m a n ever had a c h a n c e to l o o k fo r extraterrestrial l ifet h e r e ? Mancould do little t ha t wo u ld c ha n ge the geology of the plane ts ,but theirbiology, if a n y e x i st e d , c o u ld be r a d i c a l ly c ha n ge d e v e n wi t h i na d e c a d e o r so . P l a n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e a r o se f r o m t h e s e c o n s id e r a t i o n s .


9/58

Scientific ConcernOver PossibleContamination

T H E SCIENTIFIC COMMUNITY, b o t h n a t i o n a l an d i n t e r n a t i o n a l , wasa le r ted by ea r ly space e f fo r t s and soo n began express ing i t s con ce rnover poss ible lunar and p l a n e t a r y c o n t a m i n a t i o n .The I n t e r n a t i o n a lA s t ro n a u t ic a l Fe d e ra t i o n t o o k u p t h i s m a t t e r a t i ts s e v e n t h Co n gre ss i nR o m e , in S e pt em b er 1956, a ye a r be fo re t he S p u t n i k p ro gra m . In t heUn i ted S ta tes the N a t i o n a l A c a d e m y o f Sciences (NAS), a c t i n g as the f o c a lp o i n t f o r o rga n i z e d sc i e n t i f i c o p i n i o n wi t h i n t h is c o u n t ry , se rve d a s t hec o n t a c t w i t h o t h e r n a t i o n a l a n d i n t e r n a t i o n a l s c i e n t i f i c bodies. N A Sf i rs t c o n s i d e r e d the h a r m f u l e f f e c t s o f c o n t a m i n a t i o n in 1957,and i t sp re s i d e n t at the t i m e , Dr. D e t le v W. B r o n k , r e c o m m e n d e d aSatel l i te-Li fe S c i e n c e s S ym p o s i u m whi c h wa s he ld M a y 14-17, 1958, inW a s h i n g t o n . On J u n e 4, 1958, Dr. Bronk es tabl ished wi th in NAS theSpace Science Board (SSB), with Dr. Lloyd V. Berkner as i ts f i rs tc h a i r m a n . M o v in g i n t o the i n t e r n a t i o n a l a r e n a , on Fe bru a ry 8, 1958,N A S h a d f o r m a l ly t r a n s m i t te d their c o u n c i l ' s r e c o m m e n d a t i o n sc o n c e r n i n g c o n t a m i n a t i o n to t he I n t e r n a t i o n a l C o n g re ss o f S c i e n t i f i cU n i o n s ( ICSU). A s a resul t o f t h i s a c t i o n , I C S U f o r m e d a n a d h o cc o m m i t t e e on C o n t a m i n a t i o n by E x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l E x p l o r a t i o n( C E T E X ) , whic h he ld its f i r st m e e t i n g o n M a y 12-13,1958, a t The H a g u e(Science, vol;'128, 1958). Dr. Marce l Flork in was the p re s i d e n t of thisbo d y , and Dr. D o n a l d J. H u g h e s f r o m the U.S. was a m e m b e r ,r e p r e s e n t i n g t h e I n t e r n a t i o n a l U n i o n o f P u re a n d A p p li e d P h y si c s. A l lo f t he se e v e n t s ha d t a k e n p l a c e b e f o r e the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f t h e N a t i o n a lA e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p a c e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n (NASA).

PAGE BLANK-NOT


10/58

A l m o s t c o i n c i d e n t a l w i t h the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f NAS A, the I C S U at i tsm e e t i n g in W a s h i n g t o n , O c t o b e r 2^, 1958, f o r m e d C O S P A R , ani n t e r n a t io n a l C o m m i tt e e o n S p a c e R e s e a r c h . D r . W . Alber t Noyes , Jr.,served as the U.S.N a t i o n a l R e p r e s e n t a t i ve a t i ts f i rs t m e e t i n g , he l d i nL o n d o n , E n g l a n d , N o v e m b e r 14-15, 1958. COSPAR ha s m e t a n n u a l l yever s ince , w i t h D r . R i c h a r d W . Porter r e p l a c i n g D r . N o y e s as U.S..N a t i o n a l R e p r e s e n t a t i v e for the s e c o n d m e e t i n g . Dr. Porter se rved in >t h i s c a p a c i t y u n t i l the 1971 m e e t i n g a t S e a t tle , W a s h i n g t o n . S in c e t he n .D r . Herbert Friedmanhas he a d e d the U.S. d e l e ga t i o n a t C O S P A R . T heplena ry sess ions o f COSPAR a n d t he i r l o c a t i o n s a p p e a r in Table I .Table I Plenary m e e t i n g s of C O S P A R .

1958 L o n do n , E n g la n d1959 T he H a g u e , T he N e t h e r l a n d s1960 Nice, France ~ . . . - . . - . . _ _ . . .1961 Florence, I t a ly1962 Washington , D.C.1963 Warsaw, Poland1964 Florence, I t a ly1965 Mar de l Plata, A r g e n t i n a1966 Vi en n a , Au str i a1967 L o n do n , E n g la n d1968 Tokyo, Japan1969 Prague, C zec hoslov akia1970 Len ingrad, U.S.S.R.1971 Sea t t le , W ashin gto n1972 M ad ri d, Spai n1973 Co n s ta n ce , Wes t Ge rm a n y

COSPAR covered all aspects of space research, including biology,a f t e r they took over the f u n c t i o n s o f t h e a d h o c C E T E X f o l l o w i n g t ha tgroup's s e c o n d m e e t i n g o n M a r c h 9-10, 1959, a t T he H a g u e . D r.Wallace 0. F e n n and Dr. Donald J. H u g h e s represented the U.S.at thes e c o n d a n d la st C E T E X m e e t in g . W i t h i n the U n i t e d S t a t e s C E T E X ha dits c o u n t e r p a r t s in E A S T E X an d later W E S T E X , i n f o r m a l g r o u p sm e e t i n g f r o m l a t e 1958 t h r o u gh 1959, under the auspices of theNAS/SSB, with D r. B r u n o B . Ross i of the Massachuse t t s In s t i tut e o fT e c hn o l o gy (MIT)a n d D r . Joshua L e d e r b e r g o f S t a n f o r d U n i v e r s i t yserving as r e s p e c t i v e c ha i r m e n .D r. Lederberg w as also requested by the SSB to se t up an ad hocm e e t i n g t o m a k e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s c o n c e r n i n g sp a c e c r a f t st e r ili za t io n .T h i s c o m m i t t e e met at S t a n f o r d on July 6-8, 1959. Besides Dr.Lederberg, w h o served a s C h a i r m a n , m e m b e rs i n c lu d e d R.C.B a u m a n ,Goddard Space Fl ight Ce n te r , NASA ; R ichard W . Davies, Je tPropulsion L a b o r a t o r y (JPL); D r . G. Wesley Dunlap , Genera l Electric4 The Planetary Q u a r a n t i n e P r o g r a m


11/58

C o m p a n y ; a n d D r . C h a r l e s R . Phillips, U.S. Army Bio logica lL a bo r a t o r i e s ( B i o L a bs ) . G e o r ge A . Derbyshi r e f r o m SSB se rved assecre tary.T he b i o l o gy w i t h w hi c h the SSB, an d l a t e r C O S P A R , c o n c e r n e dt h e m s e l v e s co vered a l l aspec t s as i t r e la t ed to the space p rogram . Thisem brac ed space m ed ic in e , as wel l as l if e sc i ences , exobio logy, space-c r a f t sterilization, and plane ta ry quarantine. This report isconcernedo n l y w i t h the l a t t e r tw o disc ip l ines , but i t is hard to i s o l a t e t he m f r o mthe o the r b io logica l d i sc ip l ines i n the ear ly par t of the space program.F o r i n s t a n c e , t he r e q u e s t f o r t he s t e r i l i z a ti o n o f s p a c e c r a f t w a s a no u t g r o w t h o f e x o b i o l o g i c a l c o n c e r n . I f a l i e n l i fe f o r m s w e r e t o b ef o u n d a n d e x a m i n e d , t h e y m u s t be kept sepa ra t ed , a t leas t i n theb e g i n n i n g , f r o m the u b i q u i t o u s m i c r o o r g a n i s m s o f Earth. L a t e r as thes pa c e b i o lo g y p r o g ra m e x p a n d e d , the var ious b io logica l d i sc ip l inesb e c a m e b e t t e r d e f i n e d a n d w e r e c o n s i d e r e d s e pa r a te l y.T he S p a c e S c i e n c e B o a r d o f N A S a n d C O S P A R w e r e n o t t he o n lys c i e n t i f i c gro ups to express an e a r ly co n ce rn over possible b io logica lc o n t a m i n a t i o n a s t he s p a c e p r o g r a m e x p a n d e d . A s ear ly as D e c e m b e r1958, t he U n i t e d N a t i o n s f o r m e d a C o m m i t t e e o n t he P e a c e f u l U se s o fO u t e r S p a c e ( U N C O P U O S ) . T he A m e r i c a n A s t r o n a u t i c a l S o c i e t ycons ide red s imi la r t op ics a t severa l o f i t s mee t ings . A paper o n t hes t e r i l i z a t i o n o f s p a c e v e h i c l e s w a s p r e s e n t e d at the 1 0t h I n t e r n a t i o n a lA s t r o n a u t i c s C o n g r e s s in L o n d o n , A u g u s t 31-September 5, 1959 (D av isa n d C o m u n t z i s , 1960). T h e A m e r i c a n A s s o c i a t io n f o r th e A d v a n c e m e n to f S c i e n c e s p o n s o r e d a s y m p o s i u m o n E x t r a t e r r e s t r i a l B i o l o gy a n dB i o c h e m i s t r y a t i t s D e n v e r m e e t i n g in December 1959. This w asorganized and chaired by Dr. Char les R. Phillips.T he SSB o f the N a t i o n a l A c ad e m y o f S c i e n c e s , t o ge t he r w i t h i tsr e p r e s e n t a t i o n a t C O S P A R , s e r v e d a n d c o n t i n u e s t o s e r v e a s t he m a i no u t s i d e s c i e n t i f i c s o u r c e o f r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s to NASA o n p l a n e t a r yq u a r a n t i n e . A m o n g t he S S B m e m b e r s, m o st o f w h o m h adn o n b i o l o g i c a l b a c k g r o u n d s , t h o s e m o s t c o n c e r n e d w i t h p l a n e t a r yq u a r a n t i n e h a v e b e e n D r . Allan H . B r o w n , D r . W o l f V . V i s h n i a c , an dD r. C o l i n S. P i t t e n d r i gh . T he y , t o ge t he r w i t h D r. C a r l E . Sagan an dD r . L a w r e n c e B . H a ll, have b e e n a c t iv e o n C O S P A R W o r k i n g G r o u p 5 ,Space Bio logy, w hi c h was set up at the W a r sa w m e e t i n g in 1963. T hep r o c e e d i n g s o f t h e C O S P A R m e e t i n g s a p p e a r a n n u a l l y i n SpaceResearch ( N o r t h - H o l l a n d , A m s t e r d a m ) b e g i n n i n g w i t h V o l u m e I ,1960, cover ing the N i c e m e e t in g . Papers d e a l i n g wi t h the l i f e s c i e n c e sc o m p r i s e a s u bs t a n t i v e s e c t i o n in the se c o n d v o lu m e o f SpaceResearchfo r the Flore nc e m e e t i n g o f 1961. Be gin n in g in 1962, the pape rs o n thel ife s c i e n c e s ha v e be e n p u bli s he d s e p a r a t e ly e a c h ye a r in a c o m p a n i o nv o l um e L i fe Sciences and Space Research.S c i e n t i f i c Conce rn Over Poss ib le C o n t a m i n a t i o n 5


12/58

One specific COSPAR-sponsored Symposium was held in London,England, just prior to COSPAR's 1967 plenary session there. Theseproceedings were published separately as COSPAR Technique ManualNo. 4, Sterilization Techniques for Instruments and Materiels asApplied to Space Research, (Sneath, ed., 1968).

Other advisory bodies which have been set up byN A S A itself, such asthe American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) consultants andthe L i f e Sciences Committee of NASA, will be discussed later.

The Planetary Q u a r a n t i n e Program


13/58

EarlyBeginnings ofthe Space Program

N A SA WAS F O R M A L L Y E S T A B L I S H E D on O c t o b e r 1, 1958. Ana e r o n a u t i c a l re s e a r c h a g e n c y , t h e N a t i o n a l A d v i so r y C o m m i t te e f o rA e r o n a u t i c s (NAC A) w a s r e o r g a n i z e d a n d b e c a m e the n u c l e u s o f t hen e w o r g a n i z a t i o n . A t t h a t t i m e t h e space p r o g r a m h a d a l r ea d y b eg un .S pu t n i k I had b e e n la u n c h e d by the U.S.S.R. onO c t o b e r 4,1957, ay ea rearlier. T h i s wasf o l l o w ed bySputnik II, l a u n c h e d N o v e m b e r 3, 1957.T h e U .S. N avy a t t e m p t e d t o l a u n c h V a n g u a r d sa te lli te s o n D e c e m b e r 6 ,1957, and F eb r ua r y 5, 1958. T h e y s u c c e e d e d on M a r c h 17, 1958.M e a n w h i l e , o n J a n u a r y 31,1958, the U.S . A rm y had l a u nchedE A Cj o / o re r/ w h o se in s t r u m e n t s d i sc o v e r e d the VanAllen belt. The U.S. Air Forcea t t e m p t e d its f i r st l un a r p r o b e w i t h T h o r - A b le I onAugust 17,1958, butf a i l ed . T he D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e A d v a n c e d R e s e a r c h P r o gr am sA g e n c y (A RPA ) h a d t a k e n o v e r t h e E x p l o r e r p r o g r a m w i t h t h esuccessful l a u n c h o f Explorer 4 on July 26, 1958.A f t e r thee s t a b l i s h m e n t o f N A SA , t h ese m i l i t a r y p r o j ec t s pa ssed i n t o c i v i l i a nc o n t r o l .


14/58

NASA and Its PlanetaryQuarantineResponsibilities

T H E A U T H O R I T Y F O R T H E I M P L E M E N T A T I O N of the n a t i o n a l an di n t e r n a t i o n a l r e c o m m e n d a t io n s c o n c e r n i n g t h e p r e v e n t i o n o fc o n t a m i n a t i o n , a n d later c o n c e r n i n g p l a n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e , r e s i d e s i nthe N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p ac e A d m i n i s t r a t i o n , N A S A , s ub je c talways t o the f i n a l a u t h o r i t y o f t he C on gress , w hic h es tabli shed tha tag ency a n d w hi c h appropriates the f u n d s to c a r r y o ut approvedp r o gr a m s , a n d t o t h e Federal E x e c u t i v e o f f i c e , w hi c h a p p r o v e s thebu d ge t s N A S A p r e s e n t s t o the Congress .In 1958, Dr. T, K e i t h G l e n n a n , t h e n President of C a s e I n s t i t u t e ,Cleve land , Ohio , w a s n a m e d by P r e s i d e n t E i s e n h o w e r t o be the f i rs t

a d m i n i s t r a t o r o f N A S A . T he o t h e r to p o f f i c i a l s w e r e m a i n l y d r a w nf r o m the p r e d e c e s so r o r g a n i z a ti o n , N A C A . Fo r e x a m p l e , D r. H u g h L .D r y d e n b e c a m e D e p u t y A d m i n i s t r a t o r , a n d D r . A b e Silvers te inb e c a m e D i r e c t o r o f Space Fl ight Programs .N A C A h a d b e e n a n e n g i n e e r i n g a n d p h y si c a l s c i e n c e s o r g a n i z a ti o nc a r r y i n g o u t i t s o w n i n v e s t i ga t i o n s i n a c o m p l e x o f r e se a r c h c e n t e r s :A m e s in C a l i f o r n i a , L a n g l e y in Virgin ia , an d L e w i s in Ohio . Thesec e n t e r s h a d f ew capabi l i t i es i n the bio logica l sc i enc es . T o r e m e d y t h is ,D r. G l e n n a n in April 1959 brought into NASA as a s pe c i a l m e d i c a l an dbiological advisor , D r. C l a r k T . R a n d t , P r o f e s s o r o f N e u r o l o g y f r o mWestern Reserve Univers i ty . Dr. R a n d t acted in this sta f f capac i ty for aye a r u n t i l he be c a m e t he f i r s t d i r e c t o r o f N A S A ' s Of f i c e o f Li feS c i e n c e s .T h e f i r s t m a j o r problem f a c i n g N A S A w a s ' t o t a k e o v e r c e r t a i n

PRECEDING PAGE BLANK NOT FEKIEDI


15/58

m i l i t a r y s p a c e p r o g r a m s f r o m the D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e a n d t oc o o r d i n a t e t h e m with th e e x p a n d e d N A C A f u n c t i o n s . I n D e c e m b e r1958, D r. D r y d e n d e l i n e a t e d the f u n c t i o n s of the v a r io u s o r g a n i z a t i o n sr e p o r t i n g to NASA h e a d q u a r t e r s . T he e x i s t i n g t h r e e N A C A c e n t e r sw e r e t o r e m a i n i n - h o u se r e s e a r c h a n d d e v e l o p m e n t c e n t e r s. G o d d a r dSpace Fl igh t Cen te r , t o be c o n s t r u c t e d in M a r y l a n d , w as givenresponsibi l i ty for E a r t h orbit miss ions . The Jet Propulsion L a b o r a t o r y(JPL), whose contract with the Army Ballistic Missile Agency was tobe assumed by NASA o n January 1, 1959, was to handle all deep spacem iss ion s . T he f i r s t such progr am a t JPL, R an ger , was s t il l i n thep l a n n i n g s tage . Ano ther NASA i n h e r i t a n c e was the w o r k b e i n g d o n e bythe S pa ce T ech n o l o g y L a b o r a t o r y ( S T L ) , a subs id ia ry of the t h e nR a m o - W o l d r i d g e C o r p o r a t i o n , u n d e r c o n t r a c t t o t he A i r ForceBallist ic_Missile Division a n d la t e r w i t h the D e p a r t m e n t o f D e f e n s e ' s(DOD's) A dvan ce d Re search Pro jec t s A g e n c y ( A R P A ) . S T L w as a l r ea d yengaged i n the ea r ly P ioneer se r i es o f lunar sho ts and the At las-Ablesho ts w h i c h w er e t o fol low. O n l y Pioneer4 (M ar c h 1959) was to esc apethe Earth's gravi ta t ional f ie ld . I t missed the M o o n by 37,000 m iles. E ve nb e f o r e NASA c a m e i n t o th e picture, s o m e e f f o r t h a d b een m a d e b y t h em i l i t a r y , in . r esponse to the advice o f t h e s c i e n t i f i c c o m m u n i t y , tod e c o n t a m i n a t e , i f n o t t o steri l ize, these space probes.

O n Se ptem ber 14, 1959, Dr . H ugh Od ishaw , Se cre tary of the SpaceS c i en ce B o a r d , w r o t e t o D r . G l e n n a n a n d t o D r . R o y J o h n s o n o f A R P At r a n s m i t t i n g the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s of Dr. Lederberg ' s ad hocC o m m i t t e e o n S t e r i l i z a t i o n , saying t h a t t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s h a dSSB's approval an d r eques t i n g t h a t t h ey be f o l l o w ed . D r . G l e n n a na n s w e r e d th is reque st o n Oc to ber 13, 1959, pledgin g tha t NASA woulda t t e m p t t o .c a rr y o u t t he r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s . A lso d u r i n g O c t o b e r , D r .A be Si lvers t e in sen t JPL, Go ddard Space Fligh t C en te r , a n d S T L( t h r o u gh the Air Force Ball is t ic Missi le Divis ion) letters s ta t ing thefol lowing:

T h e N a t i o n a l A e r o n a u t i c s a n d S p a c e A d m i n i s t r a ti o n h a s b e e nco n s i d e r i n g t h e p r o b l em o f s t e r i li za t i o n o f pa yl o a d s t h a t m i g h ti m p a c t a ce l es t i a l b o d y . C o n s i d e r a t i o n w as given to s c i e n t i f i cques t ion s , eng in ee r in g problem s, NASA's r espon s ibi li ty to ward spr o t e c t i n g sc i en t i f i c i n ves t i g a t io n s i n t o spa ce , a n d t h e r e pu t a t i o nan d i n t eg r i t y of the Un i ted S ta tes . A s a r esul t of the d e l i b e r a t i o n s , i thas been es tabl i shed as a NASA po li cy t h a t pa y lo a d s w h i ch m i g h ti m pa c t a c e l es t i a l b o d y m us t b e s t e r i l i z ed b e f o r e l a un ch i n g .T he lettersw e n t o n t o list p a r t i c u l a r p a y lo a d s o f c o n c e r n , gave severa lr e f e r e n c e s , a n d suggested tha t the g r o up at the U.S . Arm y BioL abs , Fort

Detrick, M a r y l a n d , u n d e r Dr. C h a r l e s R. Phillips, had e x p e r i e n c e in10 The P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e Program


16/58

pr o b l em s a sso c i a t ed w i t h s t e r i li z a t io n a n d sh o uld b e co n t a c t ed . S h o r tlya f t e r , o n N o v e m b e r 12, 1959, D r. G l e n n a n t ra n s fe r r e d f u n d s to theA r m y u n d e r a g o v e r n m e n t a l i n t e r ag e n c y a g r e e m e n t to suppo r t t h e i rc o o p e r a t i o n . D r . Silvers te in 's le t ters could be c o n s i d e r e d the f i rstof f i c i a l NASA po l i cy d i r ec t i ves o n spa cec r a f t s t e r i l i z a t i o n .D r. G e r h a r d F. Schi l l ing , o n e o f th e G e r m a n r o c k e t s c i e n t i s t s w hoc a m e t o the U n i t e d S t a te s fo l lowing W o r l d War I I , had t a k e n o v e r a sNASA P r o j e c t M a n a g e r fo r the Atlas-Able P io ne er se r i es o f shots. H eb e c a m e o n e o f th e f i rs t NASA of f i c ia ls ch a r g ed w i t h r e spo n s i b il it y fo rspace veh ic le s t e r i l iza t ion .The var ious commi t t ees and sc ien t i f i c adviso ry panels se t up by andr epo r t i n g d i r ec t ly t o N A S A a s o ppo sed t o t he o u t si d e s c i e n t i f i c bodiesd iscussed ear l i e r wil l be l i st ed in a la t e r sec t ion o f th i s report. T w o o fth e se c o m m i t te e s w e re p r i m a r i ly c o n c e r n e d w i t h the e s t a b l i s h m e n t o fbio logica l c o m p e t e n c e a n d f a c i l i t i e s w i t h i n the NASA o r g a n i z a t i o n .T he f i rs t was the N A S A S pec ia l L i f e S c ie n c e s C o m m i tt e e , betterk n o w nas t he L o v e la c e C o m m i t te e a f t e r i ts c h a i r m a n , D r . W . R a n d o l p hLovelace , II. T h i s was fo rmal ly es tabl i shed on O c t o b e r 1, 1958, thes a m e d a t e a s NASA i ts e lf . I t h a d i t s f o un d a t i o n s i n a n earlier Spec ia lC o m m i t t e e on Space Techno logy es tabl i shed by N A C A i n N o v e m b e r1957, a m o n t h a f t e r the f i r s t S pu t n i k l a un ch . T h i s N A C A c o m m i t t e ehad b e e n h e a d e d by D r . H . G uy f o r d S t eve r o f M I T . I t had sevenw o r k i n g g ro ups, o n e o f w h i c h w a s o n H um a n F ac t o r s a n d T r a i n i n g ,h ea d ed b y D r . L o ve l a ce . T h e n ew NASA S pec i a l L i f e S c i en cesC o m m i t t e e s te m m e d f ro m earlier r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s t ha t N A S A s ho u ld"develop a capabi l i ty as quickly as possible [in Li fe Sciences] s ta r t ingwith c o n t r a c t c o v e r ag e c o n c u r r e n t w i t h i n - ho u s e support" a n d t h a t aspec ia l L i f e S c i e n c e s C o m m i t t e e s ho u l d b e e s ta b li sh e d t o c o n s id e ri m m e d i a t e problems. N A S A p r o m p t ly i m p l e m e n t e d t he s er e c o m m e n d a t io n s . T h is n e w c o m m i tt e e c o n s is te d o f D r . L o v e la c e ,C h a i r m a n ; B rig . G e n . Don Flickinger , U.S. Air Force (USAF);and Dr.Wright L a n g h a m , A t o m i c E n e r g y C o m m i ss io n (A E C ), f r o m the earlierStever g r o u p. A d d i ti o n a l m e m b e r s w e r e L t . C o m d r . John M . E b e r s o l e ,M e d i c a l C o r ps , U .S . N a vy , N a t i o n a l Me d i ca l C en t e r ; L t . C o l . R o b e r tH. H o l m es , Med i c a l C o r ps, U .S . A r m y ; Dr. Robert B. Livingston, U.S.Public H ea l th S e r v i ce - N a t i o n a l I n s t i t u t e o f Hea l t h ( U S P HS - N I H) ; a n dD r. Orr. E . R ey n o l d s , D OD ; w i t h C a p t . G . Dale Smith, USAF, servingas secre ta ry . T he c o m m i t t e e t r i e d u n s u c c e s s f u l l y to i n t e r es t va r i o usi n s t i t u t i o n s a n d g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s i n e n t e r i n g i n to a n a g r e e m e n tw i t h NASA to m a n a g e a m a j o r life sc ience program fo r t h e m . T hec o m m i t t e e was dissolved on M ar c h 31, 1960, af te r the e s tabl ishm en t ofan Off i ce o f L i fe S c i en ce s w i t h i n N A S A .T h i s Of f i c e o f L i f e S c i e n c e s w as f o r m e d a f t e r N A SA , in A ug us t 1959,NASA and I ts P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e R e s p o n s ib i li t ie s . 11


17/58

se t up another biological group, the ad hoc Biosciehce AdvisoryC o m m i t t e e , better known as the Kety Committee after D r. SeymourS.Kety, itsChairman. Other members were Drs. Wallace 0. Fenn, DavidR. Coddard, Donald G. Marquis, Robert S. Morison, and CorneliusA.Tobias. Advisors included Stephen Dole, Dr. Joshua Lederberg, Dr.Melvin Calvin, and Dr. W. Randolph Lovelace, II. Dr. Randt served asexecutive secretary. The Kety Committee had met on October 15-16,1959, a n d o n January 25,1960, a n d h a d recommended that an Of f i c e o fLife Sciences be established as a major division o f NASA.

Dr. Clennan accepted the recommendation and established, theof f i ce o n March 1, 1960, n a m i n g Dr. Randt as Director. This of f i ce wasresponsible fo r a l l biological an d medical programs within N A SA . T hemandate included aerospace medicine, biological satelliteexperiments, exobiology, a n d t h e acco'mpanying spacecraftsterilization program. Col. Charles H . Roadman, who wa s o na s s i g n m e n t from the Air Force'and had previous experience withaerospace medicine, wasbrought into the organization in June 1960.Other chief members of the s taff were Drs. Freeman H . Quimby,George J. Jacobs, Richard S. Young, G. Dale Smith, Siegfried J.Gerathewohl, and Jack Posner. The latter served in anadministrativeposition and, as such, was the first to oversee the sterilization projectsu n d e r w a y at JPL and the U.S. Army BioLabs.O n April 1,1961, D r. Randt resigned as Director of the Off i ce o f L i f eSciences. Colonel Roadman replaced him, f i rs t as Acting Director thenas Director, until November 1, 1961, when, under a majorr e o r g a n i z a t i o n , the f o u r major o f f i c e s o f NASA headquarters,including the Off i ce o f L i f e Sciences were abolished. Four n e w majoro f f i c e s were established: (1) Manned Space Flight, D r. D.B. Holmes,Director; (2)Advanced Research and Technology, Dr. Ira H. Abbott,Director; (3) Space Sciences, Dr. Homer E. Newell, Director; and (4)Applications, Director to be appointed.

The medical and biological programs within N A S A , formerly allresiding within the Off ice o f Li fe Sciences, were split between three o fthese n e w o f f i c e s . Aerospace medicine, headed by Brig.-Gen. CharlesH . Roadman, went into the Off ice o f Manned Space Flight. Biologicalt e ch n o l o g y w a s placed in the Off ice o f Advanced Research an dTechnology, while biosatellite experimentation, exobiology, andsterilization o f spacecraft w e n t to the Off i ce o f Space Sciences (OSS).Dr. Orr E. Reynolds wasappointed the first Director of BiosciencesPrograms in OSS on February 11, 1962. Dr. Reynolds first had Dr.Q u i m b y handle sterilization a s a part of the exobiology program. O nAugust 1,1963, Capt. LawrenceB. Hall, a senior commissioned officero f the U.S. Public Health Service, wasdetailed, on request from the12 The Planetary Quarantine Program


18/58

N A S A Administrator to the Surgeon General, to duty with NASA. Histask was to develop the sterilization program. He became the first

> NASA Planetary Quarantine (PQ) Officer, assumingresponsibility fo rdirection and operation of the program. He retired f r o m the PublicHealth Service on September 30,1965, but has remained with N A S A in

the same position, as a civilian. ' ' The headquarters s taf f at the PQ o f f i c e remained small, concernedw i t h the direction of research andoperations, particularly in its overallprogrammingand f u n d i n g aspects. Dr. Carl W. Bruch was brought in atthe beginningof the PQ Program and stayed until September 24, 1966.James Miles, a N A S A engineer, was assigned engineeringresponsibilities in the PQ Program f r o m 1963 to 1965, when hetransferred toother duties. Capt. Jack H. Fooks, also detailed toN A S Aby the Public Health Service, served as Sterility Control O f f i c e r forplanetary quarantine from November 1, 1965, to December 31, 1967.Concurrently, Capt. Arthur H. Neill, a USPHS officer detailed to dutywith N A S A January 1, 1967, served as Deputy Planetary QuarantineOfficer. Heretired on May31,1971. Lt. Comdr. Donald G. Fox, alsoonloan as a USPHS commissioned officer, served as a Sterility ControlO f f i c e r f r o m October 1968 to Aug us t 30, 1971. During portions of1971-1973, JPL maintained aseries of detailees in NASA headquarterstothe support of the technical aspects of the PQ Program. Mrs. SuzanneGallagher, o n - l o a n as a USPHS civilian, has served as AdministrativeO f f i c e r f r o m June 21, 1964, to the present.

The PQ Program operated f r o m 1963 to 1971 under the BiosciencePrograms, N A S A O f f i c e of Space Science and Applications. WhenBioscience Programs was eliminated in 1971, the PQ Program wastransferred to Planetary Programs, O f f i c e of L i f e Sciences, foradministrative purposes. To avoid any possibility of conflict betweenthe regulatory responsibility of the PQ Program and the operationalresponsibility of the Planetary Programs, the N A S A Director of L i f eSciences wasgiven an overall coordination role, and a direct line ofcommunication wasauthorized, for use if needed, from the PlanetaryQuarantine O f f i c e r to the Associate Administrator, Of f i c e of SpaceScience.

The planetary quarantine staff at N A S A headquarters has remainedsmall because of s t a f f i n g limitations in e f f e c t at the time oforganization. Its administrative f u n c t i o n s have of necessity beenaugmented under three contractual arrangements. Since 1965, theBiological Sciences Communication Project of George WashingtonUniversity has handled documentation of both research supported bythe PQ of f i ce and outside scientific literature. The American Instituteof Biological Sciences, since 1964, has performed various functionsN A S A and Its Planetary Quarantine Responsibilities 13


19/58

i n c l ud i n g t h e h a n d l i n g o f d e t a i ls f o r o u t s i d e c o n f e r e n c e s a n d m e e t i n g s.E xo t ech S y s t em s , I n c . , un d e r a ser ies o f c o n t r a c t s b e g i n n i n g in 1965,has provided a nu m be r o f se rv ices in system s ana lys is , r esearc hi n t e g r a t i o n , and o pe r a t i o n s r e sea r ch . T h ese l a t te r two c o n t r a c t u a lservices wil l be discussed in m o r e d e t a i l later.

14 The Planetary Q u a r a n t i n e P r o g r a m


20/58

NASA AdvisoryGroups

T H E FIRST T WO A D V I S O R Y G R O U P S w hi c h NASA established in the lifesc iences , the so-called L ove lace and K e ty C om m i t t ees , have beenm e n t i o n e d . T h e y w e r e c o n c e r n e d w i t h o r g a n i z a t i o n a l a n dadmin is t ra t ive aspec ts r a t h e r t han w i t h t e c hn i c a l o r programproblems. Afte r the Off i ce o f Li fe Sc iences was established i n NASAH ead quar te rs ( la rge ly as a result of the r e c o m m e n d a t i o n s of the K e t yC o m m i t t e e ) , i ts Director, D r. Randt , es tabl i shed three advisorycom m i t tees . One o n Flight M edic ine and Bio logy was chai red by Dr .Lovelace . A se c o n d o n Sp ac e M e d i c a l an d Behavioral Sc iences wasc ha i r e d by Dr. R o b e r t S. M o r i so n of the R o c k e f e l l e r F o u n d a t i o n .Spacec ra f t s te r i l iza t ion an d p l a n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e , as well asexobiology, were handled by a th i rd group, the NASA AdvisoryC o m m i t t e e o n Space Biology. Dr. Melvin Calvin of the Universi ty o fC a l i f o r n i a , Berke ley, w as C h a i r m a n . O th e r m e m b e rs w e re D r. PhilipH . Abelson, Carnegie Institution; Dr. Sidney W. Fox,Florida StateUnivers i ty; D r. N o r m a n H . H o r o w i tz ( V ic e - C h a i r m a n ) , C a l if o r n i aIns t i tu te o f Technology; Dr . Henry Linschi tz , Brande is Unive rs i ty;D r. C.S. Pi t t en d r igh , Pr ince ton Unive rs i ty; D r. C a r l E . Sagan,then a t the Un ive rs i ty o f C al i fo rn ia , Berke ley; and Dr . E rnes t C .Pollard, Pe n n syl v an i a S t a te U n i v e r s i t y. Dr . R i c ha r d S . Y o u n g, NASAheadquar ters, served as secre tary.

W ith in NASA he adq u ar t e r s t he r e was also esta blished a B i o sc i e n c e sS u b c o m m i t t e e o f t he Space Sc ie n c e s S te e r i n g C o m m i t t e e w i t h Drs.F r e e m a n Q u i m b y , C h a i r m a n ; R i c h a r d Y o u n g , S e c r e ta r y; a n d G e o r geJacobs, Siegfried Gerathewohl, G. Dale Smith, an d Jack Posner,members. During 1960 and 1961, the groups held several m eetings withinvi ted visi tors and consul tants .15


21/58

NASA also o rgan ized two ad hoc c o n f e r e n c e s o n s p a c e c r a f ts t e r i l i z a t i o n , in w h i c h NAS A o f f i c i a l s m e t w i t h in v i ted sc i en t i s ts f r o mo t h e r g o v e r n m e n t a g e n c i e s a n d o u t s i d e i n s t i t u t io n s . T h e f i r st o f th e s ewas held a t NASA he adq uar te rs in Ja n ua ry 1961. I t was ch a i re d by Dr .Randt, and its pr o ceed i n g s w er e edited by J a ck Posner and publ i shedas NASA T e c h n i c a l N o t e D-771. T h e s e c o n d s u c h m e e t i n g w a s h e ld i nJuly 1962 after the r e o r g a n i z a t i o n w h i c h a b o li sh e d the Of f i c e o f L i f eS c i e n c e s. T h is c o n f e r e n c e w a s c h a i r e d b y D r . R e y n o l d s a n d G e o r geH o b b y of J P L . Its p r o c e e d i n g s w e r e e d i t e d by Dr. Q u i m b y andpubl i shed as NASA T e c h n i c a l N o t e D-1357. S o m e 20 to 25 a t t e n d e e sw e r e p r e s e n t a t these tw o c o n f e r e n c e s .

The SSBalso a r ranged spec ia l ad hoc m e e t i n g s at w h i c h sp a c e c r a f ts t e r i l i z a t i o n , o r the n e e d fo r i t , was a sub j ec t fo r c o n s i d e r a t i o n . B io lo g yw as o n e s u bj e c t c o n s id e r e d by the SSB s u m m e r s t u d y a t A m e s , I o w a .This wil l be d i scussed la t e r . T h r ee o t h e r S S B -spo n so r ed m ee t i n g sappl icable top la n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e , allheld inW a s h i n g t o n and c h a i r e dby Dr. Allan H. B r o w n , w e r e " C o n f e r e n c e on H a z a r d of Plane ta ryC o n t a m i n a t i o n d u e to M i c r o bi al C o n t a m i n a t i o n o f I n t e r i o r o fS pa cec r a f t C o m po n en t s , " J u l y 28, 1964; "Conference on P o t en t i a lH a z a r d s of B a c k -C o n t a m i n a ti o n f ro m Planets," July 29-30, 1964; and" A d h o c Panel o n S t u d y o f B io lo g ic a l Q u a r a n t i n e o f V e n u s , " J a n u a r y1967.A r e c o m m e n d a t i o n f r o m the s e c o n d o f t h e se m e e t i n g s , t h a t b o t h thesa m pl es returned f r o m the M o o n and the as t ronauts themselves beq u a r a n t i n e d o n t h e i r return u n t i l f o u n d f r e e o f p o s s i b l eex t r a t e r r e s t r i a l m i c r o o r g a n i sm s , l ed d i r ec t ly to th e d ec i s i o n b y NASAt o c o n s tr u c t t he L u n a r R e c e i v i n g L a b o r a t o r y a t H o u s t o n b e f o r e t h e f i r stA p o l l o m i s s i o n l a n d e d o n t h e M o o n . This q u a r a n t i n e p o l ic y i sd iscussed later in m o r e d e t a i l .

AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF BIOLOGICAL SCIENCESFormal adviso ry se rv ices w ere r ee s tabli shed in 1965 fo r the PQ o f f i c et h r o u g h a c o n t r a c t w i th the A I B S . F r o m t h en o n , A I B S o r g a n i z e d an dm a n a g e d te c h n i c a l s e m i n a r s o n p l a n e t a r y r e se a r c h a n d d e v e lo p e d at e c h n i c a l l y q u a l i f i e d g r o u p t o f o r m u l a t e a n d r e c o m m e n d t h e a d v i c esuppl i ed b y A I B S t o t h e P l a n e t a r y Q ua r a n t i n e Of f i ce r .

This advisory group has been known progress ively as the A I B SS p a c e c r a f t S t e r i l i z a t i o n A d v i s o r y C o m m i t t e e (1965-1967), t h e A I B SP la n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e A d v is o ry C o m m i t te e (1968-1970), t h e A I B SP l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e A d v is o r y P a n e l (1970-1972), a n d , c u r r e n t l y , theAlBS Plan e ta ry Q ua ra n t in e Pan el (1973).T h e C h a i r m a n t h r o u g h a ll t he s e c h a n g e s o f n o m e n c l a t ur e h as b e e n16 The P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e P r o g ra m


22/58

Professor Richard G. Bond of the University of Minnesota.Membership has changed f r o m year to year, and not all currentmembershave participated ineach meeting. A list of membersappearsin Table II.Table II AIBSplanetary quarantine advisory panel, 19651973.

M e m b e r sProfessor R i c h a rd G . B o n d , C h a i r m a nUnivers i ty o f M i n n e s o t a1965-D r. R o b e r t A n g e lo t t iFood an d D ru g A d m i n i s t r a t i o n1969-Dr. John R. Bagby, Jr.Colorado Sta te Un ivers i ty1972-D r. John H . Bre w e rH a rd i n - S i mmo n s U n i v e r s i t y1965-Mr. W illiam B. BriggsMcDo nn el l-Douglas As t ron aut icsC o m p a n y1972-Dr. Allan H . Bro w nUnivers i ty o f P e n n s y l v a n i a1972-D r. Byron W. Bro w n , Jr.S t a n f o r d Univers i ty Medica l Cente r1969-1970M r. M a r k A . Chat ignyUniversity o f California, Berkeley1966-Dr. Frank B. Engley, Jr.Universi ty of Missouri1967-D r. F ra n k l i n A . Graybil lColorado Sta te Univers i ty1972-Professor Thomas W. Ke th leyGeorgia Inst i tute o f T e c h n o l o g y1965-1966D r. J a m e s C . K o n e nC o n s ul ta n t , A s h l an d C h e m i c a l1972-Dr. Gilbert V. LevinBiospher ics Incorpora ted1967-1973

D r. M o r t o n W . MillerUnivers i ty o f R o c h e s t e r1972-D r. I rv ing J. PflugUnivers i ty o f M i n n e s o t a1965-1972D r. R i c h a r d W . PorterG e n e r a l E le c t ri c C o m p a n y1970-Dr. Orr E . R e y n o l d sA m e r i c a n Physiological So cie ty1971-D r. Gerald Si lve rmanMassachuse t ts Ins t i tu te o f Technology1967-M r. H.D. SivinskiS a n d i a C o r p o r a t i o n1972-D r . H . Ear le SwimUnivers i ty of K e n t u c k y1972-D r. J o h n A . Ulr ichUnivers i ty of New M e x i c o1965-Dr. Wo lf V. Vishn iacUnivers i ty o f R o c h e s t e r1972-1973D r. Will iam G. Walte rM o n t a n a Sta te Un ivers i ty1965-1966M r. R o b e r t P. WolfsonSystems C o n s u l t a n t1972-

Advisory Scien t i s tD r. I rv ing J. PflugUnivers i ty o f M i n n e s o t a1972-C o o r d i n a t o rMs. M a ry -F ra n c e s T h o m p s o nA m e r i c a n I n s t i t u t e o f Biological Sciences1965-

NASA Advisory G roups 17


23/58

The purposes of the Panel are to1. Review the broad aspects of the PQ program2. Review research data of PQ interest upon which NASA policy

decisions are based3. Prepare recommendations for technical changes in PQ pol-

icy or confirm policies4. Evaluate research proposalsIn 1965, the same year the first panel was organized, AIBS set up for

the Planetary Quarantine Program a National Conference onSpacecraft Sterilization Technology on the California Institute ofTechnology campus in Pasadena. This was attended by about 300persons. Some 36 formal papers were presented over a period of threedays,^ind they, together with discussions,_were .published byJNASA asSP-108 in 1966.

No large national conferences followed, although there was an inter-national meeting in London in 1967 just before the COSPAR meetingthere. Thepapers presented, together with discussions, were publishedby COSPAR as Manual No. 4 of their Technique Manual Series underthe title Sterilization Techniques for Instruments and Materials asApplied to Space Research. '

In 1968 the AIBS Planetary Quarantine Panel started the practice ofholding smaller semiannualNASA Spacecraft Sterilization TechnologySeminars. The purpose of the seminars was topermit the PQ Officer tomonitor contracts, to inform the PQ Officer and the AIBS PQ Panel ofprogress made in the supporting research and technology program, andto fosteran interchange of ideas and recent developmentsin spacecraftsterilization. For these seminars research contractors preparedabstracts rather than formal papers, since much of what was reportedwaswork inprogress. The panel and NASA officials selected from theseabstracts the work they wanted presented in great detail; thus, thetechnology seminars consisted of informal oral presentations by cer-tain contractors and discussions which were not formally published.Other contractors and prospective contractors were invited to attendthe seminars if they wanted to keep up with work related to their own.

Following is a list of these Spacecraft Technology Seminars and theirlocations:

June 1968 Cape Kennedy, FloridaFebruary 1969 Cape Kennedy, FloridaSeptember 1969 L as Vegas, N e v a d aApril 1970 Atlanta, GeorgiaDecember 1970 Williamsburg, Virginia June 1971 Seattle, W a s hi n g t o n

18 The Planetary Quarant ine Program


24/58

J a n u a ry 1972 C a p e K e n n e d y , FloridaJuly 1972 San Fran cisc o , C ali fo rn iaJanuary 1973 N e w O r l e a n s, L o u i s i an aJuly 1973 De n ver , C o lorad oNASA LIFE SCIENCES COMMITTEE

Re c e n t ly , t he N A SA Li fe S c i e n c e s C o m m i t t e e , o p e r a t i n g under theNASA S p ac e P ro gra m A d v i so ry Co u n c i l , has u n d e r t a k e n to rev iew an dadvise o n t h e a d e q u a c y o f t h e p la n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e m e a s ur e s e m p lo y e dby plane ta ry m iss ion s .

NASA A d v i s o r y Groups 19


25/58

PlanetaryQuarantineResearch

A RE SEARCH PROGRAM I N T H E LIFE SCIENCE S had to be es tabl i shed a f t e rNASA's f o r m a t i o n , s i n c e N A C A h a d essen t i a l l y n o expe r i en ce o rin -house capabi l i ty in the bio log ica l f i e ld whic h co uld be ca r r i ed o ve ri n t o t h e n e w o r g a n i z a t i o n . T h e N A C A r e s e a r c h o r g a n i z a t i o n ha d b e e nbuilt a l m o s t e n t i r e l y a r o u n d its r e sea r ch cen t e r s . U n d e r N A S A , ther e se a rc h d e v e l o p m e n t pr o g ra m b e c a m e c o n t r a c to r o r ie n t e d .The f i rs t of the r e s e a r c h c o n t r a c t o r s wasJP L . T h i s c o n t i n u i n g p r o je c tis by far the la rges t r esearc h e f f o r t w h i c h NASA has suppo r t ed in th i sf i e ld . A l th o ug h t ec h n i c a l ly a contractor, J P L h a s , i n e f f e c t , o pe r a t ed a sa m a j o r NASA r e sea r ch cen t e r .W h e n NASA t o o k c o n t r a c t u a l c o n t r o l of JPL on J a n u a r y 1, 1959,JPL too had l i t t l e exper i ence in bio logy or the l if e sc i enc es . A m o n g thef i rst t o bec o m e i n vo lved i n st e r i li za t i o n p r o b lem s a t JP L w a s R i ch a r dW . Davies , w ho ha d b e e n in c o n t a c t w i t h D r. L e d e r b e r g and was am e m b e r o f h is a d h o c c o m m i t te e o n s p a c e c r a f t s te r i li za t io n w h i c h m e ti n t he sum m er o f 1959. A lso i n vo l ved so o n a f t e r JP L b ec a m e a NASAp ri m e c o n t r ac t o r w a s M a r c u s G . C o m u n t z is , a n e n g i n e e r c o n c e r n e dw i t h t h e R a n g e r p r o g r a m . T h ey g ave a j o i n t pa pe r o n spa c ec r a f ts ter i l izat ion in L o n d o n in the s u m m e r o f 1959. In i t th e y r e c o m m e n d e dvar ious goals , i n c lud in g one tha t the pro babi l i ty o f lan d in g a v iableo rgan ism o n Ma r s o r V en us sh o uld b e le ss t h a n o n e i n a m i ll io n .This w as fo l lowed up in JPL by an e n g i n e e r i n g s tu d y c o n d u c t e d byL e o n a r d D. J a f f e ( J a f f e , 1963, 1964). He t o o k i n t o co n s i d e r a t i o n thecurrent s ta t e-o f - the-a r t , bo th in s te r i l iza t ion and in t r a j ec t o r y co n t r o l ,

21

PRECEDING PAGE BLANK NO* F E H E f l


26/58

and concluded that these probabilities should be lessenedconsiderably for Venusand that those for Mars should be reduced toabout a 10~4probability. The further development of these goals interms of probabilities is covered in Werber's companion reportmentioned in the Foreword to this volume.JPL also started early to build up an in-house biological researchcapability. In March 1959, JPL arranged for George L. Hobby, then,associated with Dr. Dean Burke at the National Institutes of Health, tocome into their o r g a n i z a t i o n a s a s t a f f biologist. H e reported f o r duty inA u gu s t 1959 and began to build up a small internal biologicalo r g a n i z a t i o n . Frank A . Morelli w a s a n early member o f this group. ,

Since then, a large number of JPL s taf f members have beena s s o c i a t e d w i t h sterilization and planetary quarantine activities eitheron a full-time or part-time basis. The research effort grew particularlya f t e r the establishment of the PQ o f f i c e within NASA headquarters,w h i c h offeredacentral source of program planningand funding. Muchof the research is d i f f i c u l t to sort out from other JPL activitiesassociated with funded programs not directly related to planetaryquarantine. For example, there, was a large e f f o r t from the start todetermine which spacecraft components were unaffected by varioustypes of sterilization treatments and to develop new sterilizablecomponents when the available ones were damaged by heat or othertechniques. Trajectory computations also had a bearing on planetaryquarantine. M a n y JPL research e f f o r t s were directly funded by NASA'sPQ o f f i c e and were related directly to that program.

The Planetary Quarantine Program at JPL is nowsupervised by Dr.Charles W. Craven. He wasProject Officer for early Voyager projectwork, supported by various contractors including General Electric,w i t h Robert Wolfson as principal investigator. This led to a cleardefinition of overall planetary quarantine parameters, which in turnled to more than a score of early laboratory investigations to betterdefine problems of die-off and recontaminationdie-off due toultraviolet radiation and recontamination due to exhaust gases andspalling.

George F. Ervin had an early assignment as Capsule SystemsSterilization Engineer for Voyager, and he provided the PlanetaryQuarantine Program witha fresh look at procedures and methodology.He exercised considerable engineering acumen in the development ofs t e r i l i z a t i o n specifications and the NASA planetary quarantinehandbook, NHB8020.12. This documentation has been and continuesto be a key element in Viking development activities.

Victor J. Magistrale carried out early coordination work on alaboratorywide basis to develop the sterilizable parts for various22 The Planetary Quarantine Program


27/58

s p a c e c r a f t , including electronic components, scientific instruments,batteries, a n d materials. A t t h a t time sterilization requirementsincluded exposure toboth dryheatand ethylene oxide. In this e f f o r t heworked closely with James R . Miles, the Sterilization Program Managerat NASA headquarters.Alexander S. Irons worked in the area of sterilization methodologywith both d ry heat an d ethylene oxide. H e defined exposure times,conditions of exposure, i.e., amount of moisture, and carried outs tud ies to better define clean rooms a n d t o develop means o fquantization. This included work in the Experimental AssemblySterilization Laboratory (EASL). He later projected his work into thecivil systems area, developing a readily sterilizable pressure breathingm a c h i n e fo r use in hospitals. This is considered a direct transfer o fNASA technology to the civil sector.

Dr. Joseph J. McDade conducted early studies todefine clean-roomw o r k areas. These studies included definition of expectedmicrobiological fallout and accumulation of biological load ons p a c e c r a f t surfaces. In addition, he did pioneering work toquantitizemicrobiological population. Later work in cleaning s p a c e c r a f t surfaceshas proven o f value in the cleanup of a l l the various Mariners p a c e c r a f t .Dr. Joseph A. Stern and Dr. Richard H. Green selected and directeda team o f workers to provide the Viking project discipline, as well asother planetary quarantine achievements. They refined earlyclean-room studies and advanced the quantization of microbiologicalpopulations.Gunther Redmann worked with t h e prototype SterilizationD e v e l o p m e n t Laboratory (SADL) a n d with simulated lander capsuleequipment to collect data showing the level o f bioload to be expected

through normal assembly a n d test o f Viking hardware. These dataproved that extensive sterile life protection a n d handling o f f l ighthardware were unnecessary. In addition, his work showed the merit o fthe class 100 type o f clean tent which w as lateradapted fo r use with thetwo Mariner 71 spacecraft.D r. Daniel M . Taylor refined spacecraft cleaning methodology a n dcontinued the operation of bioassay laboratories required to supportthe Viking lander through launch. H is studies o f radiation e f f e c t o nmicroorganisms, combined with e f f e c t s of the space environment a n dexposure t o d r y heat, have proven o f great value in d e f i n i n g planetaryquarantine requirements f o r planned missions to Jupiter a n d Saturn.Alan R . H o f f m a n worked in systems analysis, mathematicalmodeling, and development of planetary quarantine computerprograms in support of the overall Viking Planetary Quarantine

'-. :\Planetary Quarantine Research 23


28/58

P r o g r a m . H e h a s a lso p r o j ec t ed his s yt e m s a n a ly si s m e t h o d o l o g y i n t os t ud i es fo r m i s s i o n s t o the o u t e r p l a n e t s to p r o v i d e p l a n n e r s w i t h ase l ec t i o n o f s t ra t eg ies f o r e n c o u n t e r s w i t h the p l a n e t s a n d t h e i rsatell i tes.Aside f rom the e f fo r t at JPL, there were m an y o ther con t rac to rsw o r k i n g o n p l a n e t a r y q u a r a n t i n e r e s e a r c h . S o m e w e r e e a r l yp a r t i c i p a n t s i n the NASA s t e r i li z a ti o n e f f o r t . A la rg e r n u m b e r c a m e ina f t e r the e s t a b l i s h m e n t of the P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e o f f i c e a t NASAh ea d qua r t e r s . T h ese co n t r a c t o r s , t h e s co pe o f t h e i r r e sea r c h e f f o r t ,p r i n c i pa l i n ves t i g a to r s , a n d d u r a t i o n o f s tud y a r e li st ed i n t h eA ppen d i x . T he reader is r e f e r r e d to the BSCP bibl iography fo r areview o f published resul ts .

24 The Planetary Quarantine Program


29/58

Implementation andPolicyDirectives

DR . A BE SILVERSTE IN'S LETTE RS w r i t t e n in Oc tobe r 1959 were par t i a l lyq u o t e d earlier, t o g e th e r w i th t he c o m m e n t t h a t t h e y c o n s t i tu t e d t h ef i rs t f o r m a l N A S A po li cy d i r ec t i ve o n space cr a f t s t e r i liza tion . T hey a llc o n t a i n e d t h e s ta t em en t t h a t " pa y lo a d s w h i c h m i g h t i m pa c t a c e l es ti a lb o d y m us t b e st e r i li zed b e f o r e l a un ch i n g ." T h i s w a s a n un e qu i vo c a b l es t a t e m e n t , w i t h n o qua l i f i ca t i o n , a n d s t e r i li z a ti o n i s a n a b so lu t e term.W h i l e t h i s d i r ec t i ve co u l d n o t h a v e b e e n c o m p l e t e l y u n e x p e c t e d ,s in c e t h o s e i n v o l ve d w i t h i m m i n e n t la u n c h i n g s w e r e a w a r e o f ther e c o m m e n d a t i o n s the biologists had b e e n m a k i n g , its i m m e d i a t ea p p li c a t i o n po s e d i n n u m e r a b l e d i f f i c u l t i e s . T O begin wi th , theseact ivi t ies w er e i n t h e h a n d s o f ph y s ica l sc i en t i st s a n d en g i n ee r s w h o h a dlittle pr ev i o us e xpe r i e n c e w i t h b io l o g y, m uc h l ess w i t h s te r i li za t i o nt e c h n i q u e s , a n d n o k n o w l e d g e o f w h a t t h e a p p l ic a t i o n o f t he s et r ea t m en t s w o ul d d o t o t h e spa c ec r a f t th ey w er e d e s ig n i n g . S t e r i l iz a t io na t t h a t ti m e w a s usua ll y t h o u g h t o f i n h o s p i t a l terms, i n v o l v in g s m a lli te m s s u c h a s t h o s e us e d i n s u rg e r y. T h e t e c h n i q u e p r e d o m i n a n t l y u s e dwas a u t o c l a v i n g w e t s tea m a t p ressures o f a b o u t 2 5 psi o ve ra t m o s p h e r i c a n d w as usua l l y co n d uc t ed in smal l pressure c h a m b e r s .T h i s w a s hard ly appl i cable to s p a c e c r a f t .

The L e d e r b e r g ad hoc c o m m i t t e e on spa cec r a f t s t e r i l i z a t i o n hads ta ted t h a t o n e r e s e a r c h g r o u p , the U .S . A r m y B i o L a b s, had e x p e r i e n c ed a t i n g b a c k to W o r l d W a r I I i n s te r i l iz ing objec t s as large as a r m y t r u c k sa n d a s d e l ic a t e a s l a b o r a t o r y ba la n c e s . T h e y r e c o m m e n d e d t h a t t h i se x p e r i e n c e be ut i l i z ed . Dr. Silvers te in 's letters r e p e a t e d t h i sr e c o m m e n d a t i o n , a n d , s h o r t l y a f t e r w a r d , NASA a n d t h e U .S . A r m ys igned a n i n t e r a ge n c y a g re e m e n t f o r m a l i z i n g t h i s c o o p e r a t i o n . B io L a bs

25


30/58

h a d d eve l o ped g a seo us s t e r i li z a t io n t e ch n i ques , pa r t i cu l a r ly a r o un dthe use o f vo l a t i l e a n d n o n co r r o s i ve e t h y l en e o x i d e , w h i c h could beused i n s im p le p la st ic c o n t a i n e r s at a m b i e n t t e m p e r a t u r e s a n dpressures . The SSB and Dr. S i lv e r st e in 's d i re c t iv e s r e c o m m e n d e d t h a tth i s t e c h n i q u e be expl o r ed .A c o m p li c a t in g f a c t o r w h i c h e l i m i n a t e d s o le r e li a n c e o n a s i m p l et e r m i n a l g a seo us s t e r i li z a ti o n o f a n a ssem b led spa ce c r a f t so o n e vo lved .T h i s gaseous t r e a t m e n t w o u l d t a k e c a r e o f m i c r o o r g a n i s m s o n l y o ne x p o s e d s u r f a c e s . L e d e r b e r g had e x p r e s s e d c o n c e r n t h a tm i c r o o r g a n i s m s m i g h t b e p r o t e c t e d b e t w e e n t h e t h r e a d s o f sc r e w s, fo re x a m p l e , or in plast ics or po t t i n g m a t e r i a l s used to p r o t e c t e l e c t r o n i cc o m p o n e n t s . T h e l u n a r l a u n c h e s t h e n i n t h e p l a n n i n g stage i n vo l vedh a r d l a n d i n g s , w h i ch co u l d ca use such buried c o n t a m i n a t i o n tob eco m e expo sed . U n t i l t h i s t i m e , o n l y su r f a ce s t e r i li z a ti o n h a d b ee n ac o n c e r n . N o s ur g e o n a f t e r a n o p e r a t i o n w o u ld c r u m b le t h e i n s t r u m e n t sh e ha d used a n d drop t h e m i n to the o p e n w o u n d be f o r e he sew ed up thei n c i s io n h e h a d m a d e . T h is , h o w eve r , w a s essen t i a ll y w h a t co u ldh a p p e n o n a hard l u n a r l a n d i n g . I n t h e a b s e n c e o f a n y r e s t r a i n i n ga t m o s p h e r e , the e x po s e d c o n t a m i n a t e d p a rt s c o u ld be t r a n spo r t ed ,d epen d i n g upo n t h e i r i n i t i a l ve l o c i t y a n d t r a j ec t o r y , t o d i s t a n ces f a rb e y o n d the l a n d i n g s i t e .

The A r m y B i o L a b s g r o u p l o o k e d i n t o t h i s m a t t e r of buriedc o n t a m i n a t i o n . A f t e r expl o r a t o r y expe r i m en t s, t h ey f o un d t h a t h a r d ym i c r o o r g a n i sm s c o u ld i n d e e d s u rv iv e c e r t a i n p o l y m e r i z a ti o n p r o c e s se so f plastics, a n d , m o r e o v e r , t h a t m a n y e le c t r o n ic c o m p o -n e n t s c a p a c i t o r s , resistors, t r a n sf o r m e r s a s r e c e iv e d f r o m th e m a n -uf a c t u r e r co n t a i n ed v i a b l e m i c r o o r g a n i sm s i n s i d e t h em w h i ch greww h e n t h e co m po n en t s w er e c r a cked o r c r ush ed o pen , even a f t e r b e i n gsurface ster i lized wi th e thyle n e o xide.T h i s i n f o r m a t i o n w as reported at the a n n u a l c o n v e n t i o n o f t heSociety o f A m er i ca n B a c t e r i o l o g i s t s i n Philadelphia in May 1960 andsub sequen t l y published in Science (Phillips and H o ff m an , 1960).T h e r e w er e o n l y t w o kn o w n st e r ili za t io n t e c h n i ques a t t h a t ti m ewhich could be used for such buried c o n t a m i n a t i o n h e a t andp e n e t r a ti n g r a d i at io n . R a d i a t io n had cons iderably less e f f e c t o nm i c r o o r g a n i sm s t h a n o n h i g h e r f o r m s o f l if e . Ver y h i g h d o sa ges w er erequired, in the order of t h r ee tofive m e g a r a d s , rather than dosages in

the h u n d r e d s or low t h o usa n d s w h i ch w er e le t h a l to higher l i f e fo rms .M a n y s p a c e c r a f t c o m p o n e n t s s i m p l y could n o t w i t h s t a n d t h i st r e a t m e n t . H e a t too had its draw backs . S te r i liza tion dosages were wellw o r k e d out for a u t o c l a v in g , r equ i r i n g o n l y 15 to 20 m i n u t e s att empera tures a round 125C. But s tea m co ul d no m o r e p e n e t r at e to theburied m i c r o o r g a n i s m s t h a n c o u l d the ster i l iz ing gases . Heat in t h a t2 6 T h e Plane ta ry Q ua r a n t in e Program


31/58

case had to be d ry hea t , even i f appl i ed in an autoc lave .M i c r o o r g a n i sm s i n t h e d r y sta te , as o p p o s e d to those f r ee ly exposed towe t s te a m , w e r e m u c h m o r e r e s is ta n t . A t t e m p e r a t u r e s i n the range o f160C t o 170 C , f o u r o r m o r e h o ur s w er e r equ i r ed f o r s t e r i l i z a t i o n .Mo r eo ve r , b eca use o f t h ese l o n g e x p o s u re t im e s an d h ig h t e m p e r a t u r e st h e p r o cess h a d b een l it t le used a n d , h en ce , t h e r e w er e f ew d a t aavai lable . N o d a t a w er e a va i l a b l e o n d r y h ea t s t e r i l i z a t i o n r a t e s a tlo w e r , a n d p r e s u m a b l y le ss d a m a g i n g , t e m p e r a t ur e s . T h e A r m yB i o L a b s i n a f ew e x plo r a to r y e x p e r i m e n t s d e t e r m i n e d t h a t at 125Cexpo sur e t i m es ex t en d i n g t o 2 4 h o ur s w o ul d pr o b a b l y b e required.M e a n w h i le J P L w a s f i n d i n g i n p l a n n i n g f o r t he R a n g e r p r o g ra m t h a ti t was no t poss ib le to live up to the abso lute t e rm s o f the S i lvers t e ind i r ec t i ve .T he w h o l e R a n g e r p r o g r a m w as b ese t w i t h d i f f i cu l t i e s , o f w h i c ha t t e m p t s a t s t e r i l iza t ion were on ly a part, b ut a pa r t i cu l a r l y a n n o y i n gpart. T h is w h o l e e x p e r i e n c e h a s b e e n c a r e f u ll y d o c u m e n t e d in ProjectRanger. A Chronology (Hall, 1971). T h i s pub l i c a t i o n l is t sc h r o n o l o g i c a lly a l l t h e p e r t i n e n t d o c u m e n t s d e a l in g w i t h t h e R a n g e rh is to ry , toge ther wi th a sh o rt su m m a r y o f t h e i r c o n t e n t s . T he f o l l o w i n gparagr aphs sum m ar ize ra the r b r i e f ly the par t tha t s t e r i liza tion playedi n t h is a t t em pt a t l un a r explo r a t i o n .

O n M a r c h 8,1960, JP L es tabl i shed spacecra f t s t e r i l iza t ion guidel inesf o r t h e R a n g e r p r o j ec t , a n d i n A pr il a S pa c ec r a f t S t e r ili za t io n P a n e ld e c i d e d t h a t t h e y w o u ld o n l y g e n e r a t e t e c h n i q u e s w i th Rangers I and//, w h i c h w e r e to be E a r t h orbiters. T h e n t h e y would u t i l ize theset e c h n i q u e s w i t h RangersHI, IV, and V,w h i c h w e r e p la n n e d tot a ke TVpi c t u r es prior toh a r d l un a r i m pa c t s . L a t e r in April 1960, JPL releasedd e t a i led i n - h o use p r o c ed ur e s w h i ch i n c l ud ed f i r st a dry h e at t re a t m e n ta n d t h en a t e r m i n a l g a seo us s t e r i li z a ti o n a t t h e l a un ch site .Further studies with spacecra f t co m pone n ts were taking placed ur i n g t h e d e l a y s t h a t o c cur r ed i n t h e R a n g e r p r o g r a m , a n d JP L w a sf i n d i n g i t i m po ss i b l e t o s t e r i l i z e a l l R a n g e r co m po n en t s i n t e r n a l l y .Such t e rm s as "st e r i liza t ion to the e xte n t f eas ib le" began to c re ep in toco r r espo n d en ce . T h en o n D ec em b er 2 3, 1960, a f t e r co n s i d e r a b l es taf f ing , NASA issued a m e m o r a n d u m to P r o g r a m D i r ec t o r s at NASAh ea d qua r t e r s a n d D i r ec t o r s o f fi e l d s t a t i o n s o n t h e sub jec t :" D e c o n t a m i n a t i o n a n d s t e r i l i z a t i o n p r o ced ur es f o r l u n a r a n dpla n e t a r y spa ce veh i c les ." T h e m em o w a s s ig n ed by H ug h L . D r y d en ,NASA D e p u t y A d m i n i s tr a t o r , f o r T . K e i t h G le n n a n , A d m i n i s tr a t o r .T h e d i r e c t i v e r e s t a te d t h a t " e f f e c t iv e d e c o n t a m i n a t i o n a n ds t e r i l i z a t i o n p r o ced ur es f o r lunar a n d plane ta ry space veh ic les a r eessen t ia l." I t ca l led fo r ex ten s ive s tud ies to be in i t i a t e d to ac h ieve th i sgoal . S te r i l iza t ion plans fo r each miss ion would be prepared fo r theI m p l e m e n t a t i o n a n d P o l i c y D i r e c t i v e s 2 7


32/58

NASA A s so c i a te A d m i n i s t r a t o r a n d n o m i s s i o n w o ul d be f lo w n un t i l hehad approved the p l a n n e d p r o c e d u r e s . W a i ve r s c o u l d be g r a n t ed ifc e r t a i n e s se n t i al c o m p o n e n t s c o u ld n o t be s te r i l ized in t e rna l ly as wellas ex t e r n a l l y . .The r eques ted s tud ies , par t i cula r ly on dry heat s ter i l izat ion ,w e r e i n i t i a l e d a t JPL. In a d d i t i o n , NASA h e a d q u a r t e r s s u p p o r t e d ane x t e n s i v e b a si c r e se a r ch p r o g r a m o n d r y h ea t w i t h o t h e r co n t r a c t o r s ,b e g i n n i n g w i t h the W i lm o t C as tle C o m p a n y c o n t r ac t in M a r c h 1961..T h i s e f f o r t has co n t i n ued un d e r va r i o us i n ves t i g a t o r s to the presen t .At th is po in t i t i s advisable to list the va r ious U.S. lun ar and plan e taryf l ight miss ions , t o g e t h e r with t h e i r l a un ch d a t es , o r p r o j ec t ed l a un chd a t es in the cas t o f ce r t a i n p l a n n e d p l a n e t a r y m i ssi o n s (see T a b le I I I).

T o k e e p the chrono logy s t ra igh t , i t should be n o t e d t h a t the f i r s t objec tto i m p a c t th e M o o n - w a s the U.S.S.R-Luna 2 l a u n c h e d i n S e p t e m b e r1959. Soviet o f f ic ials s ta ted t ha t Luna 2 had b een g iven a ster i l izat iont r e a t m e n t prior to l a u n c h , but deta i l s of the m e t h o d s u se d w e r e n e v e rm a d e a va i l a b l e .Ranger /, not laun c he d un t i l A ugust 1961, we n t in to a l o w e r E a r t ho r b i t t h a n p l a n n e d . A s a r esul t of the f a i l u r e of i t s A g e n a boos te r ,Ranger II f a i l ed in its N o v e m b e r 1961 la u n c h a t t e m p t and did not goi n t o orbit. Ranger III, the f i r s t a t t e m p t e d l u n a r lander, missed theM o o n by about 23,000 miles, a n d t h e T V pic tures are unusable . N o tu n t i l April 1962, with Ranger IV, w as the U.S. able to re pe at the Sovieta c c o m p li sh m e n t o f l a n d i n g an o b j e c t o n t h e M o o n . T h is f l ight w as byn o m e a n s a comple te success . N o T V pi c t u r es w er e returned. T he spaceveh i c l e w e n t o u t o f co n t r o l a n d c r a shed o n t h e f a r s id e o f t h e M o o n .Table III U.S. space launches of p l a n e t a ry q u a ra n t i n e i n t e r e s t .

L u n a r m i s s i o n sAug 58 T h o r - A b l e P i o n e e r F a i l e dOct 58Nov 58Dec 58Mar 59Nov 59Sep 60Dec 60Aug 61Nov 61Jan 62Apr 62Oct 62Jan 64Jul 64Feb 65

P i o n e e r 1P i o n e e r 2P i o n e e r 3P i o n e e r 4Atlas-Able 4Atlas-Able 5AAtlas-Able 5BR a n g e r 1R a n g e r 2R a n g e r 3R a n g e r 4R a n g e r 5R a n g e r 6R a n g e r 7R a n g e r 8

Fai ledFailedFailedFlyby, m i s s e d M o o nFailedFailedFai ledFai l ed , n o n l u n a rFai led , n o n l u n a r .Flyby, m i s s e d M o o nI m p a c t , n o T VFlyby, mi s s e d M o o nI m p a c t , n o T VI m p a c t , T VI m p a c t , T V

28 The P l a n e t a r y Q u a r a n t i n e P ro g ra m


33/58

Table III (Continued).Mar 65May 66Sep 66Apr 67Jul 67Sep 67Nov 67Jan 68Aug 66Nov 66Feb 67May 67Aug 67Dec 68Mar 69May 69Jul 69Nov 69Apr 70Jan 71Jul 71Apr 72Dec 72Aug 71Apr 72Jul 66Jul 67Jun 73

R a n g e r 9Surveyor 1Surveyor 2Surveyor 3Surveyor 4Surveyor 5Surveyor 6Surveyor 7Lunar Orbiter 1Lunar Orbiter 2Lunar Orbiter 3Lunar Orbiter 4Lunar Orbiter 5Apollo 8Apollo 9Apollo 10Apollo 11Apollo 12Apollo 13Apollo 14Apollo 15Apollo 16Apollo 17P&F SatelliteP&F SatelliteExplorer 33Explorer 35Explorer 49

Impact, T VSoft landing, T VImpact, n o T VSoft landing, T VImpact, n o T VSoft landing, T VSoft landing, T VSoft landing, T VOrbit, then impactOrbit, .then impactOrbit, then impactOrbit, then impactOrbit, then impactM a n n e d circumlunarM a n n e d orbitM a n n e d orbitM a n n e d landingM a n n e d landingAborted landing; manned circumlunarM a n n e d landingM a n n e d landingM a n n e d landingM a n n e d landingOrbit, launched from Apollo 15 ,Orbit, launched from Apollo 16; impact

Flyby, missed lunar orbitSelenocentric (lunar) orbitSelenocentric (lunar) orbitMara missionsNov 64Nov 64

Feb 69Mar 69May 71May 711975

V enu sJul 62Aug 62Jun 67

Mariner 3Mariner 4Mariner 6Mariner 7Mariner 8Mariner 9V i k i n gmissionsMariner 1Mariner 2Mariner 5

FailedFlyby, T VFlyby, TVFlyby, TVFailedM a r s probe in orbit, TVL a n d e r and orbiter (proposed)FailedFlybyFlyby

Mariner Venus/Mercury 1973 missionNov 73 Mariner 10 FlybyOuter planets missionsMar 72 Pioneer 10

Apr 73 Pioneer 11Aug 77 MarinerJupiter flybyJupiter, Saturn flybyJupiter, Saturn flyby (proposed)

Implementation and Policy Directives 29


34/58

Ranger V, launched in October 1962, had a power loss, missed theMoon, and a ga i n sent back nopictures. Rangers HI, IV, and V had allreceived dry heat treatmentsand aterminal sterilization treatment withgas.

The series of Ranger failures aroused a storm of protest, both withinthe government and in the press. In spite of the f a c t that some failureswere definitely due to other causes, there were claims that thesterilization treatments, particularly dry heat, were at least partiallyresponsible. This could not actually be proven, but the suspicioncaused a h e a v y f low of memoranda and letters both within NASA andJPL and between them. Waivers grew insteadof decreased in numbers.W h a t was more, the climate waschanging. The scientific communityhad never presented a unified front demanding sterilization for lunar,as opposed to planetary, missions". Those claiming it w'as unnecessarywere becoming more vocal. In July 1962 at the NAS Iowa SummerStudy, the Working Group on Biology, with Dr. Allan H. Brown asChairman and Dr. C.S. Pittendrigh asVice Chairman, concluded that"contaminationof the Moon doesnot constituteasserious aproblem asis the case of the planets. Nevertheless, lunar contamination should bekept at a feasible minimum." They added, "Planning for MannedLandings on the Moon and planets must be based on the assumptionthat sterility precautions will still be required during the phase ofmanned exploration."

Moreover, prioritieswere changing. The manned space program waswell along. President Kennedy had stated to Congress in May 1961 thatthe U.S. would land a man on the Moon "within this decade." Andwherever man went, his flora of microorganisms would accompanyhim. The hope now was that contamination could be kept to such aminimum that it would not interfere with tests for the presence ofbiological matter on returned lunar samples.A s early asNovember 1962, JPL wastold to stop dry heat treatmentson components for the future Ranger vehicles. There was a last ditche f f o r t to keep the requirement for a terminal gaseous surfacesterilization treatment of the assembled vehicle, but that too wasdropped in later correspondence.

This c h a n g e of policy was not made o f f i c i a l until September 9, 1963,w h e n N A S A issued its Management Manual NMI l-1, "NASAUnmanned Spacecraft Decontamination Policy." The managementinstruction stated under policy for the Moon that

1 The NASA policy is based on acceptance of the scientificopinion that lunar surface conditions would mitigate againstreproduction of known terrestrial microorganisms and that, ifsubsurface penetration of viable organisms were to be caused

30 The Planetary Quarantine Program


35/58

by spacecraft impact, proliferation would remain highlylocalized.

2 It is the N A S A policy toprotect the Moon from widespread orexcessive contamination until s u f f i c i e n t information has beenobtained concerning the Moon, to ensure that scientific studieswill not be jeopardized.

The management instruction further stated under "RequiredProcedures" that clean-room assembly policies be adopted, sporicidalagen ts be used when "appropriate" to reduce surface contamination,and f i n a l assemblybe wrapped and handled insuch a way as to preventaccumulationof contamination during its shipment to the launch site.This was the policy followed on the subsequent Ranger spacecraft, aswell as on the Surveyor and Lunar Orbiter spacecraft.Ranger VI again failed to return TV pictures, but the last threeRangers, VII, VIII, and IX, were complete successes, and the live TVpictures returned, up until thevehiclescrashed on theMoon's surface,were viewed by millions throughout the world. The despair over theU.S. space program turned overnight into complete pride ofaccomplishment.Ranger was followed by the seven Surveyor launches, five ofw h i c h - i n c l u d i n g the f i rs t successful ly showed closeup details of thelunar surface. Also, the Lunar Orbiter program's f ive missionse f fec t ive ly mapped the Moon and furnished the basis for choosinglanding sites for the Apollo astronauts. The late President Kennedy'sgoal was accomplished on schedule when Apollo 11 astronautsArmstrong and Aldrin set f o o t on the moon on July 20, 1969.

The abandoned lunar sterilization policies were replaced byquarantine policies. On. August 24, 1967, N A S A entered into anInteragency Agreement, "Protection of the Earth's Biosphere f r o mLunar Sources of Contamination," with the Departments ofAgriculture; Interior; and Health, Education, andWelfare. All of theseagencies had regulatory responsibilities concerning prevention ofintroduction of alien plant, animal, or human parasites or disease intothe United States. The National A c a d e m y of Sciences was also a party tothis interagency agreement. Under this agreement, the MannedS p a c e c r a f t Center in Houston issued Management Instruction 8030.1,dated January 9,1967, and entitled "Assignment of Responsibility forthe Prevention of Contamination of the Biosphere by ExtraterrestrialLife." This was followed by the implementary "Quarantine Schemesfo r Manned Lunar Missions," prepared by the Interagency Committeeon Back-Contamination whichhad representatives of all parties to theinteragency agreement.

NPD 8020.13, April 4, 1969; NPD 8020.14, July 16, 1969; N M D / AImplementation and Policy Directives 31


36/58

8020.15, July 16, 1969; and N M D / M 8020.16, July 23, 1969, allimplemented the interagency agreement dealing withback-contamination, extraterrestrial exposure, and authority to dealw i t h any cases that m i g h t occur. These quarantine provisions weret wo - f o ld in purpose. One was the prevention of back-contamination.Howeverunlikely one considered the existenceof live microorganismson the Moon to be, t h e y could not be completely ruled out beforehand,and the covert introduction of alien li fe f o r m s to the Earth's biospherecould be catastrophic. A second reason was protection of the preciouslunar samples f r o m any possible terrestrial contamination until theycould be carefully examined for the presence of any trace biologicalcomponent, viable or nonviable. The Lunar Receiving Laboratorywastherefore built at the Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, and theMobile Quarantine Facility was constructed to transport bothastronauts and samples there f r o m the naval recovery carrier. Duringthe short helicopter trip f r o m the splashdown site to the carrier,the samples were in sealed containers and the astronauts wore aspecially designed Biological Isolation Garment. The public, as well asthe scientists, detected several possible gaps in the quarantineprocedure, and protests, particularly f r o m the medical profession,were numerous, but these were blunted by the f a c t that all the gaps hadbeen foreseen and were authorized by regulatory authorities outside ofN A S A .On September 6, 1967, N A S A issued NPD8020.8, "Outbound LunarBiological Contamination Control: Policy and Responsibility." Itnoted that, while the object of the early phasesof lunar exploration hadbeen "complete sterility," each probe that impacted the Moon hadcarried anumber of microorganisms. It quoted the recommendationsof the SSB to minimize contamination and to develop a sterile drillingsystem so that subsurface lunar samples could be collected andreturned aseptically during the Apollo missions. This directive wasupdated by NPD 8020.8A on May 2, 1969, just before the Apollo 11manned landing.N A S A NMI^i-4-1, which lifted lunar sterilization requirements,kept them for planetary missions, however. It stated, "It is the policyofthe N A S A to prevent the biological contaminationof the planets untils u f f i c i e n t information has been obtained concerning the planets toensure that biological studies will not be jeopardized and that nohazard to earth exists."N o t listed in Table IV were two planned 1966 Mars f l ights whichwere cancelled, primarily for budgetary reasons, and never becameattempted launchings. Both, however, were of considerable planetaryquarantine interest during the planning stages. A planned V o y a g e r32 The Planetary Quarantine Program


37/58

launch was to land an Automated Biological Laboratory on the surfaceo f Mars. A sterilization plan w a s written fo r this launch before thep r o j e c t w a s cancelled. T he second cancelled launch, Mariner-Mars1966, was to have been a f lyby, although a t o n e time in the planningstages a small landing capsule w as considered.NASA NMI -1was replaced on September 6, 1967, by NASAPolicy Directive 8020.7, "Outbound Spacecraft: Basic Policy Relatingt o Lunar and Planetary Contamination Control." This documentr e s t a t ed t h a t n o planetary mission would transport terrestrial l ife t o thepl a n e t s "within probabilities established by issuances implementingthis policy." For the first time, the unworkable absolute ban wasdropped. Italso specified that "microbial l i fe landed on theMoon . . .shall be identified, quantified and, insofar a s possible, located" so thatit could be identified as terrestrial if f o u n d in returned samples. Theimplementation o f this latter directive appeared i n N H B 5340.1A ,"JNASA Standard Procedures fo r the Microbiological Examination o fSpace Hardware," October 1968.Basic quarantine policy fo r planetary missions appeared i n N P D8020.10 also dated September 6, 1967, and updated by NPD 8020.10A,"Outbound Planetary Biological a n d Organic Contamination ControlPolicy and Responsibility,"August 1,1972. Both documents containedthe following provision:

Biological Contamination. The basic probability of one in onet h o u s a n d (1 x 10"3) that a planet o f biological interest will bec o n t a m i n a t e d shall be used as the guiding criterion during theperiod o f biological exploration o f Mars, Venus, Mercury,Jupiter, other planets and their satellites that are deemedi m p o r t a n t fo r t he exploration o f life, life precursors o r remnantsthereof.NASA directive NHB8020.12, "Planetary Quarantine Provisions forU n m a n n e d Planetary Missions," April 1969, directed that quarantineplans f o r planetary missions be submitted t o the Planetary QuarantineO f f i c e r for approval, and again spoke not in absolute terms, but inprobabilities o f contamination, in line with the internationalagreements.

I m p l e m e n t a t i o n and Policy Directives 33


38/58

ProgramAccomplishments

As DISCUSSED I N T H E PREVIOUS SECTION, NASA lunar po l i cy wasc h a n g e d f r o m o n e o f s ter i l izat ion , o r a t t em pt ed s t e r i l i z a t i o n , o f thespa ce vehi c les i n vo l ved t o o n e o f a n a t t em pt t o m i n i m i z e a n d lo ca li zec o n t a m i n a t i o n . T h e p o l i c y o n p l a n e t a r y m i s s i o n s r e m a i n e du n c h a n g e d , save fo r the f a c t t h a t i t was slated in probabi l i tyte rmino logy rather than in absolute terms. Sterilization may be ana b so l u t e t e r m , but t h e r e is always some probabi l i ty as to w h e t h e r t h isa b so l ut e c o n d i t i o n is a c h i e v e d i n a n y par t i cula r case . Bec ause o f th isd i f f e r e n c e in po l i cy the a c c o m p l i s h m e n t s o f t h e l un a r pr o g r a m a n d t h ep l a n e t a r y program wi l l be discussed separately .L U N A R MISSIONS

T he e f f e c t i v e n e s s o f t h e l un a r p r o g r a m ca n b est be sum m ed up i n asi m p le s t a t e m e n t . N o m i c r o o r g a n i s m s w e r e re c o v e r e d f r o m the l u n a rsamples returned dur ing the Apollo program. Thiswastrue of both invi t ro and in vivo t es t s (H ol land and S im m on s, 1973) a t the L un arR e c e i v i n g L a b o r a t o r y . T h i s was a resul t both of the

the planetary quarantine program origins and achievements, 1956 - 1973

Documents