Ripesco questo post perchè mi sono imbattuto in un post su sci.space.history che approfondisce il discorso del batterio ritrovato sulla Surveyor 3.
Riporto i messaggi del thread, ricchi di richiami a interessantissimi documenti PDF.
Hi,It came up in a conversation the other night about the bacteria found on the
Surveyor parts that were returned by Apollo 12 and how they survived for
years. Doing a quick web search, I found this article consistent with that:http://science.nasa.gov/newhome/headlines/ast01sep98_1.htm
But I recall reading that the sample may have been contaminated when
disassembled after return to earth, for example, as Henry wrote in 1997:There is not the slightest question that what showed up in the culture
media were bacteria, of Earthly origin. They showed up only in tests of
samples of foam from between two circuit boards, deep within Surveyor’s
camera – tests of other parts of Surveyor, and of the tools and culture
media used, showed none. Conditions within that foam, even on the lunar
surface, would not have been extreme and it’s quite plausible that
relatively tough types of bacteria could have survived there. The delay
before they started to grow in the culture medium suggested that they were
deeply dehydrated.The only area where some doubt has been expressed is whether they actually
made the trip to the Moon and back aboard Surveyor, or were accidentally
added by careless handling procedures after the samples’ return. The fact
that no such bacteria showed up in any other sample, or on the tools and
culture media, argues against post-return contamination but is not proof.Is there any place where this is written up? Either on the web or in
hardcopy, although the web is easier.Cheers,
rk, Just an OldEngineer
Le risposte
The definitive writeup on the experimental results is a paper in NASA SP-284, "Analysis of Surveyor 3 material and photographs returned by Apollo 12", 1972.The suggestion that sloppy procedure may have contaminated the sample was
made more recently, by one of the folks who did the experiments, and I’m
not aware of any formal publication of it. (I’m also not sure how much
credence to give it.)Henry Spencer
Analysis of Surveyor 3 material and photographs returned by Apollo 12 NASA-SP-284; LC-70-181874 , 19720101; JAN 1, 1972 Postflight analysis of parts from Surveyor 3 spacecraft, lunar material, and photographs brought back on Apollo 12 flight Accession ID: 72N26731 Document ID: 19720019081-Rusty
Additional NASA Surveyor 3 reports....
Surveyor III A preliminary report
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-SP-146 , 19670601; Jun 1, 1967
Preliminary observations from Surveyor III soft moon landing -
telemetered pictures and data on mechanical soil sampler, and lunar
surface properties
Accession ID: 67N32582
Document ID: 19670023253
Surveyor program results Final report
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-SP-184 , 19690101; JAN 1, 1969
Summary of lunar data and scientific observations generated by Surveyor
landings on Moon
Accession ID: 69N36451
Document ID: 19690027073
Apollo 12 - Preliminary science report
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-SP-235 , 19700601; Jun 1, 1970
Preliminary scientific analyses of Apollo 12 ALSEP data, lunar
photographs, and returned materials
Accession ID: 70N35271
Document ID: 19700025955
Analysis of Surveyor 3 television cable after residence on the moon
Gross, F. C.; Park, J. J.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TN-D-6599; G-1044 , 19720301; Mar 1, 1972
The Apollo 12 astronauts brought the Surveyor III television camera
back from the moon in November 1969. Chemical analyses of a portion of
television cable revealed changes in the glass fabric sleeve and in the
wire insulation as a result of exposure to the lunar environment. Loss
of volatile constituents from the glass fabric and a discoloration of
the glass occurred. The Teflon layer on the wire showed a slight
discoloration and possibly a slight change in its infrared spectrum.
Both the polyimide layer and the Teflon layer of the wire insulation
showed changes in tensile strength and elongation.
Accession ID: 72N20128
Document ID: 19720012478
Surveyor 3 parts and materials returned from the moon by Apollo 12 -
Evaluation of lunar effectsNASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-114855 , 19710122; Jan 22, 1971
Engineering analysis of Surveyor 3 parts returned by Apollo 12
astronauts to determine lunar environment effects
Accession ID: 71N17567
Document ID: 19710008092
Examination of Surveyor 3 surface sampler scoop returned by Apollo 12
mission
Scott, R. F.; Zuckerman, K. A.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-127521 , 19710101; JAN 1, 1971Accession ID: 73N73872
Document ID: 19730064630
EVA communications from Surveyor 3 site on Apollo 12
Rosenblum, I. I.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-107371; B69-10020 , 19691008; Oct 8, 1969Accession ID: 79N72680
Document ID: 19790073172
Atlas-Centaur AC-12 flight performance for Surveyor 3
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-TM-X-1678 , 19681101; Nov 1, 1968
Flight performance evaluation of Atlas Centaur launch vehicle AC-12
carrying Surveyor 3 lunar probe
Accession ID: 69N10295
Document ID: 19690000964
The Surveyor 3 mission and its relation to Apollo
Schmidt, F. N.
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information (CASI)
NASA-CR-154361 , 19670619; Jun 19, 1967Accession ID: 79N71789
Document ID: 19790072281
-Rusty