Science

NASA Moon landing warning: Humans at risk from crippling illness caused by lunar dust


Scientist Harrison ‘Jack’ Schmitt was part of the last Apollo mission to the Moon in 1972 shortly before the programme was shelved. According to the Daily Telegraph, Mr Schmitt was the only scientist to get the opportunity to walk on the satellite. He spent hours collecting dust and samples from the Moon’s surface.

But when he returned to the landing module, dust which had collected on his spacesuit became inhaled, causing an immediate reaction.

He told the Starmus space festival in Zurich that the “inside of my nose became swollen” and that the allergic reaction could be “heard in my voice”.

Ms Schmitt said: “But that gradually that went away for me, and by the fourth time I inhaled lunar dust I didn’t notice that.

“Whereas a flight surgeon taking suits out of the Apollo 17 command module, after we had splashed down, he had such a reaction that he had to stop doing what he was doing.

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“For some individuals we need to find out whether they are going to have a reaction, if they are going to be exposed chronically to Moon dust.

“Now my suggestion is don’t ever let them be exposed to lunar dust and there are many engineering solutions since I was flying to keep dust out of the cabin, to keep it off the suit. It’s going to be primarily an engineering problem.”

His comments came ahead of July’s 50th anniversary of the first Moon landing.

NASA is concerned about future missions to the Moon and Mars, as further dust could be inhaled causing conditions such as silicosis.

If the tiny stone particles are inhaled they can become embedded into the lungs, triggering inflammation and scarring.

Scientific tests have revealed that man-made Moon dust became embedded into humans lungs.

Researchers are also concerned that Martian dust could cause even more damage because it is sharper and abrasive.

They describe it as being like powdered glass, which could also be poisonous.

The US has pledged to get humans back on the Moon within five years.

China and the European Space Agency are also keen on creating bases there within 10 years.

Britain’s first official astronaut Tim Peake said: “We should be going back to the Moon, both exploring and settling. I would like to see a moon base on the lunar surface where we would live continuously like astronauts are doing at the International Space Station.

“And that will give us a great jumping off point to explore the rest of the Solar System.”



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