[ad_1]
NASA Lab in Houston, where Neil Armstrong and fellow Apollo 11 astronauts were quarantined after their 1969 lunar mission collapsed and was demolished
- The building where the Apollo 11 team was quarantined after their landmark landing five decades ago will be demolished in 2020 and replaced by an energy-efficient building
- The lunar reception lab at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, was purpose built in 1967.
- Neil Armstrong and his team stayed there for three weeks after their return from the moon, until NASA could determine that they had not contracted infectious diseases.
- Since the last flight of the Apollo program in 1972, the building has been used specifically for projects related to the health of astronauts.
- An economic analysis of 2015 determined that the structural and electrical problems of the historic building could not be solved and that it would be too expensive to preserve it for historical reasons.
Publicity
The Houston building, where Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and his colleagues were quarantined after their lunar mission of 1969 fell to ruin and was demolished, NASA said.
The lunar reception lab at Johnson Space Center has not been used for two years and will likely be demolished next year, the Houston Chronicle reported on Tuesday.
The building, completed in 1967, was designed to isolate astronauts and their lunar rock samples until it was clear that they did not carry disease.
Now, the exposed wires hang from saturated ceiling slabs of mildew, their ends spiraling along the floor next to fallen fiberglass pieces and discarded office equipment.
Diagnostic monitoring equipment for the air filtration system in the lunar reception laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston is reported. The building has not been used for two years and must be demolished.
Sean Keprta, Occupational Health Manager, checks lunar reception laboratory ceiling at Johnson Space Center
An unused laboratory in the lunar reception lab at the Johnson Space Center
"I hate to see what this building stands for and what we did here, 50 years ago, is going away," said Judy Allton, curator at Johnson.
In the years following the Apollo program, the building housed astronaut health projects. But a 2015 economic analysis determined that the structural and electrical problems of the historic building could not be solved.
Dallas-based HDR Architecture has been tasked with designing an energy-efficient building to replace the old laboratory, and historians hope to recover some of the artifacts from the building and display them elsewhere.
Many buttons and other missing items were taken as souvenirs, according to employees.
Sergio Leal, left, an engineer, Judy Allton, center, curator of samples, and Osvaldo Salinas, trainee, scan the room where Neil Armstrong was quarantined after returning from the moon.
Sandra Tetley, Johnson's historical preservation manager, said she intended to keep the original stairs, pillars and walkways, as well as the most equipment at the same time. interior of the building.
"But it's a shame to lose the building," Tetley said.
Everett Gibson, Johnson's emeritus scientist, worked in the lab during the Apollo missions, ages 12 to 17.
Just months after the celebrations marking the 50th anniversary of the first lunar steps of the Apollo 11 astronauts, Gibson said it was difficult to see the building disappear, but that keeping it for historical purposes would be too expensive . He does not know either that the public interest persists.
"Sometimes, in life, we have to make difficult decisions and I do not know what you could do about it," he said.
& # 39; It is rotting, and the cost to maintain it is simply appalling. I do not think it's so exciting for a man and a woman on the street.
The entrance to Building 37, also called the lunar reception lab of the Johnson Space Center in Houston, where astronauts and lunar rocks were quarantined after their arrival.
This is the room where the Apollo 11 capsule was stored after returning to Earth.
Buzz Aldrin is depicted on the lunar surface in July 1969 with the Apollo lunar module seen in the background, left
[ad_2]
Source link