Splendid isolation: when the first astronauts to walk on the Moon returned from their July 1969 lunar expedition, they were confined to quarters.(The Object At Hand)

Publication: Smithsonian

Publication Date: 01-JUL-04

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[Mobile Quarantine Facility]

it has been 35 years since Neil Armstrong stepped onto the surface of the Moon, just before 11 p.m. E.D.T. on July 20, 1969--an astounding feat to those of us who witnessed it on the flickering screens of black-and-white televisions. These days, it is robots, faithful machines that leave the Earth, travel to other worlds and do not return, who take the giant leaps for mankind. So one must strain a bit to recall the undercurrent of fear that ran through the celebration of Apollo 11's astonishing triumph. Among other fears, scientists worried that the astronauts might return to Earth bearing unwanted passengers--deadly lunar microbes against which humans would have no defense. If this concern, in...

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