The mobile quarantine facility (MQF) was a converted Airstream trailer used by NASA to quarantineastronauts returning from Apollo lunar missions for the first few days after splashdown. The MQF was on the aircraft carrier that picked up the capsule. Once the aircraft carrier reached port, the MQF was flown to Houston, and the crew served the remainder of the 21 days of quarantine in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center. The purpose of the quarantine was to prevent the spread of any contagions from the Moon, though the existence of such contagions was considered unlikely. It functioned by maintaining a lower pressure inside and filtering any air vented.[1]
In June of 1967, NASA awarded contract to design and build the four MQF's to Melpar, Inc., of Falls Church, Virginia. Lawrence K. Eliason was the head project manager.
The MQF contained living and sleeping facilities as well as communications equipment which the astronauts used to converse with their families. The Apollo 11 crew also used this equipment to speak with President Nixon, who personally welcomed them back to Earth in July 1969 aboard the recovery ship USS Hornet after splashdown.
The trailers housed the three crew as well as a physician, William Carpentier, and an engineer, John Hirasaki, who ran the MQF and powered down the command module.
The Apollo 11 mobile quarantine facility, with the crew on board, is unloaded from a C-141 aircraft.
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility on display at the Huntsville Space museum.
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility Electricity panel
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility with inside folding table
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility front door seals
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility sink and 6 bunk area.
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility kitchen Radar range microwave oven Fridge
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility bathroom sink.
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility rear bathroom tub and shower
MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility kitchen exhaust vent and electrical connections
Apollo mobile quarantine facility rear generator and transformers
The quarantine requirement was eliminated following Apollo 14 once it was proven the Moon was sterile and that the facilities were therefore unnecessary.[5]
mobile, quarantine, facility, mobile, quarantine, facility, converted, airstream, trailer, used, nasa, quarantine, astronauts, returning, from, apollo, lunar, missions, first, days, after, splashdown, aircraft, carrier, that, picked, capsule, once, aircraft, c. The mobile quarantine facility MQF was a converted Airstream trailer used by NASA to quarantine astronauts returning from Apollo lunar missions for the first few days after splashdown The MQF was on the aircraft carrier that picked up the capsule Once the aircraft carrier reached port the MQF was flown to Houston and the crew served the remainder of the 21 days of quarantine in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at the Manned Spacecraft Center The purpose of the quarantine was to prevent the spread of any contagions from the Moon though the existence of such contagions was considered unlikely It functioned by maintaining a lower pressure inside and filtering any air vented 1 The crew of Apollo 11 in quarantine after returning to Earth in July 1969 visited by President Nixon Contents 1 History 2 See also 3 References 4 External linksHistory editIn June of 1967 NASA awarded contract to design and build the four MQF s to Melpar Inc of Falls Church Virginia Lawrence K Eliason was the head project manager The MQF contained living and sleeping facilities as well as communications equipment which the astronauts used to converse with their families The Apollo 11 crew also used this equipment to speak with President Nixon who personally welcomed them back to Earth in July 1969 aboard the recovery ship USS Hornet after splashdown The trailers housed the three crew as well as a physician William Carpentier and an engineer John Hirasaki who ran the MQF and powered down the command module nbsp The Apollo 11 mobile quarantine facility with the crew on board is unloaded from a C 141 aircraft nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility on display at the Huntsville Space museum nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility Electricity panel nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility with inside folding table nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility front door seals nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility sink and 6 bunk area nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility kitchen Radar range microwave oven Fridge nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility bathroom sink nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility rear bathroom tub and shower nbsp MQF002 Apollo mobile quarantine facility kitchen exhaust vent and electrical connections nbsp Apollo mobile quarantine facility rear generator and transformersFour MQFs were built for NASA Mission Designation DispositionApollo 11 MQF003 Formerly on display at the U S Space amp Rocket Center Currently on display at the National Air and Space Museum s Steven F Udvar Hazy Center 2 Apollo 12 MQF002 Converted for various purposes and found near Marion Alabama Currently on display at the U S Space amp Rocket Center 3 Apollo 13 MQF001 Not used for the crew because they did not land on the Moon For some time the USDA used it Its present disposition is unknown 2 Apollo 14 MQF004 On display at the USS Hornet Museum in Alameda California 4 The quarantine requirement was eliminated following Apollo 14 once it was proven the Moon was sterile and that the facilities were therefore unnecessary 5 See also editCrew transport vehicleReferences edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mobile Quarantine Facility Mobile Quarantine Facility Collections Database National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution a b Pearlman Robert August 11 2007 Topic Apollo 12 MQF trailer resurfaces CollectSpace Retrieved February 16 2011 Space Camp Newsletter Mobile Quarantine Facility September 2007 Retrieved February 16 2011 Mason Betsy July 2009 Wired Science News for Your Neurons Splashdown The Ship That Picked Up the Apollo 11 Astronauts Wired After Splashdown Apollo to the Moon National Air and Space Museum Smithsonian Institution July 1999 Archived from the original on February 24 2004 a href Template Cite web html title Template Cite web cite web a CS1 maint unfit URL link External links editFilm footage of President Richard Nixon speaking with the Apollo 11 astronauts in their mobile quarantine facility on the USS Hornet NASA gov Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Mobile quarantine facility amp oldid 1141762566, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
