Quarantine According to Apollo Astronauts

On the eve of Apollo 11’s launch, the Moon remained a mysterious place. We had pictures of the surface and had landed a handful of robotic probes, but no one knew what humans might find there, or what they might bring back. There was serious concern that some virus or other contaminant might live on the surface and hitch a ride to Earth with the crew, unleashing a Moon Plague on humanity. As a proactive measure, the agency developed strict quarantine procedures. The men, the rocks, and even the hardware were isolated post-flight in an attempt to contain anything that could affect the…