The concept of an allergy to the Moon sounds rather like the stuff of a sci-fi movie plot. For astronaut Harrison "Jack" Schmitt, though, this bizarre reality actually came to life as he made his historic journey to the lunar surface. As one of the last astronauts to walk on the Moon, Schmitt faced a challenge few others had faced, nor expected: an unexpected reaction to lunar dust.
Harrison Schmitt was not your run-of-mill astronaut. He was a geologist who holds a Ph.D. from Harvard University, making him the first scientist to walk on the moon's surface. His considerable geological know-how played an important role in the collection of rock samples that were later used for the advancement of our knowledge about Earth's composition.
On 11 December 1972, Schmitt, who was accompanied by fellow astronaut Eugene Cernan, landed on the Moon, in the last manned lunar of the Apollo program and his mission included the investigation of the lunar terrain and the bringing back of geological samples for further consideration on Earth.
What the astronauts did not anticipate was an issue: lunar dust. Regolith is an extremely fine, powdery material that covers the Moon's surface. It was supposed to be nothing bad, but rather something quite sticky that stuck to everything: to the astronauts' suits, to their equipment, even to their skin.
When Schmitt and Cernan returned to the lunar module after a hard day of exploration, they took that dust inside with them. Having no proper means to clean off their suits, moon dust filled up in a short while the tight space of the lunar module, exposing the astronauts to inhale it. It is then that Schmitt started showing some effects of an allergic reaction.
Two days after being exposed to moon dust, Schmitt started having frequent bouts of sneezing and wet eyes, which are typical signs of hay fever. After noticing everything, the NASA medical team concluded that Schmitt had a moon dust allergy a theory that had never even occurred to them.
This allergic-like reaction lasted the rest of the day, and although it did not have any adverse effects on the success of the mission, it posed significant questions to the effect of moon dust on human health. Schmitt's temporary reaction indicated that future lunar missions would have to take in serious consideration the problem of inhaling dust.
But what in moon dust provoked such a reaction? Lunar regolith is made up of small, irregular particles. These have not been smoothed over by the action of weathering processes that we might be familiar with on Earth-water or wind-that wear down dust grains into something smooth and small enough to be easily passed through the lungs. Lunar dust is therefore made up of jagged particles highly likely to cause irritation if inhaled or skinned.
Indeed, the Apollo missions frequently said that there was an issue with dust on the moon. In addition to sticking to surfaces, it had an abrasive effect on equipment and posed some health risks to the astronauts. Schmitt's was a more extreme case, but others experienced minor irritations.
That is why knowing the effect of foreign dust, more so lunar dust, is something now very important for the team as it looks forward to returning to the Moon and further into the red planet, Mars. The experience of Schmitt became a cautionary tale in space exploration. Scientists today are now looking into how they can minimize moon dust, from designing better filtration systems in spacecraft to coming up with more dust-resistant suits.
From now on, do not let those future astronauts experience the same shocking problems that Schmitt experienced with the Apollo 17. After all, when everything is as unforgiving as outer space, detail matters, and moon dust, no matter how innocuous it looks, could send critical missions haywire.
Naturally, Harrison Schmitt succumbed to an allergic-like reaction caused by the lunar dust. In a way, that's a very interesting, one-of-a-kind piece of space exploration history. It was not a function in the mission success of Apollo 17, yet it highlighted areas that needed improvement in working in extraterrestrial conditions. The lessons gleaned from that experience help direct some of the present plans for future missions to the Moon and beyond.
With space agencies preparing for more lunar landings and eventually human expeditions to Mars, dust impact would be the main issue, if not the most visible thing at the fore.
Harrison Schmitt's is one story that reminds all that even the smallest thing like a bit of dust in space exploration can make a huge difference.
Reference Links:
Allergic to the Moon: The Vintage News
As more lunar missions are planned, the allergic reaction Harrison Schmitt experienced to moon dust may have insights on how to prepare for the unknown.
