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Search icon An illustration of a magnifying glass. User icon An illustration of a person's head and chest. Sign up Log in. Web icon An illustration of a computer application window Wayback Machine Texts icon An illustration of an open book. During the return flight to Earth, the crew vacuum cleaned their clothing and equipment and took numerous precautions as part of a quarantine program to avoid carrying back to Earth any possible contamination from the moon. July 24, after an eight-day mission, the crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.
They donned biological isolation garments and were recovered by helicopter and transferred to the recovery ship USS Hornet where they were placed in a Mobile Quarantine Facility, a trailer modified for the purpose.
They traveled in the MQF to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston, where they were kept in isolation for 21 days after lift-off from the lunar surface to preclude the possibility of contaminating the Earth with lunar organisms or material. Extensive medical and biological tests determined that no harmful organisms were present in any of the materials returned from the moon, and quarantine was terminated. The materials returned from the 1 km mile journey to the moon and back were distributed to scientists throughout the world.
Figure 12 illustrates material from lunar rock. Among the scientific findings reported was the fact that the moon is approximately 4. Additionally, three new mineral elements were discovered in the Apollo 11 samples analysis. During the transearth trajectory, the Apollo 11 crew reported seeing streaks, points, and flashes of light. These visual phenomena were observed with the eyes both open and closed.
It is believed that the effect was generated by extremely high energy particles of cosmic origin. These phenomena were reported by all subsequent Apollo crews. On November 14, , Apollo 12 began its The second lunar landing mission was crewed by Charles Conrad, Jr. Gordon, Jr. Bean, Lunar Module Pilot. During the launch, the spacecraft was struck twice by lightning, causing some interruption in electrical power. Contact with Mission Control was lost briefly.
This was the first instance where any situation occurred that could have resulted in mission abort during launch. After about two hours of electrical system checkout in Earth orbit, all systems were pronounced in good working order.
The prime engineering objective of the Apollo 12 mission was to accomplish a point landing of the Lunar Module.
On the Apollo 11 mission, the objective was simply to land in a safe general area, and the vehicle had touched down 6. The landing site selected for the Apollo 12 mission was a point m ft east and m ft north of the site where Surveyor 3 had softlanded on the moon in Lunar orbit was achieved three days after launch.
The Lunar Module, Intrepid, succeeded in touching down only m ft from the Surveyor 3 spacecraft in the Ocean of Storms figure Despite some loss of visibility due to dust created by the descent engine, the Apollo 12 Lunar Module landed with a reserve of propellants that was equivalent to 58 seconds of hover time. The Apollo 12 lunar surface crew made two extravehicular excursions, remaining on the moon for 31 hours, seven and three-quarters of which were spent exploring and working on the lunar surface.
The second lunar EVA, which lasted for three hours and 49 minutes, was devoted to collecting additional lunar samples, taking photographs, and inspecting the Surveyor 3 spacecraft. The Surveyor had made a major contribution to the Apollo 12 flight by sending back more than photographs of the Apollo 12 landing area. The Apollo 12 astronauts retrieved a television camera from the Surveyor, as well as sections of aluminum tubing and bits of glass insulation and cables. The astronauts probed the lunar surface to a depth of In all, 34 kg 75 Ib of rock and soil samples were collected.
Surveyor 3 spacecraft foreground and Apollo 12 Lunar Module on the lunar surface. The Intrepid impacted the moon This occurrence suggested that the moon was an unstable structure and that the impact had initiated a series of "avalanches.
After a safe landing in the Pacific Ocean, the Apollo 12 crew, like the Apollo 11 crew, were quarantined while medical and biological studies were performed. Again, no life forms were found in lunar materials. Another unqualified success in the space program, the Apollo 12 mission provided data through the ALSEP experiments and lunar sample collection that added greatly to man's knowledge of the moon.
Swigert, Jr. Mattingly who was relieved of duty after exposure to German measles ; and Fred W. Haise, J r. Apollo 13 would have been the first lunar mission to be dedicated almost entirely to geological research.
The Lunar Module was to have landed on one of the roughest areas of the moon yet to be explored. The lunar surface crew would have traversed greater distances on the moon than any previous crews, with the distance being left to their own discretion. They were scheduled to climb one of the ridges of Fra Mauro and descend into a crater to check communications degradation, carrying a three-meter ft long drill to withdraw a core sample from beneath the lunar surface. Approximately four hours after launch, the Command Module was docked with the Lunar Module.
The hatches were opened between the spacecraft and the lunar surface crew entered the Lunar Module to perform checkout operations. About 56 hours into the mission, the crew reported that emergency alarms had sounded in the Command Module and that they had heard a muffled explosion. Hey, we've got a problem here," the spacecraft transmitted.
In rapid order, the spacecraft reported problems with two of the three fuel cells in the Service Module. These cells supplied electrical power for the spacecraft and produced oxygen and water as byproducts. They also reported venting of gases from the Service Module. The existence of an extreme emergency was clearly indicated.
An electrical short circuit occurring in oxygen tank number 2 caused combustion within the tank. This combustion created a pressure and temperature rise and, within seconds, rupture of the tank. This set off a pressure rise inside Service Module bay No. Oxygen required for breathing and for the electricity-producing fuel cells was rapidly depleted.
This was the most serious failure ever experienced in manned space flight, particularly since the crew was on a lunar trajectory and could not return to Earth for approximately four days. Emergency procedures were rapidly developed by the crew and by ground control teams.
The plan adopted was for the crew to man the Lunar Module, which had not been affected by the accident, and use the vehicle as a "life boat. Batteries in the Lunar Module supplied power for essential communications and for operation of navigational equipment. The Lunar Module descent stage propulsion system was to be used for required maneuvers. At first, the dearth of vital supplies was of great concern. Only about 38 hours of power, water, and oxygen were available, and this was about half as much time as would be needed to bring the craft home.
However, ground-based personnel devised techniques for powering down the systems to conserve supplies. This created a hardship on the crew because the Lunar Module became uncomfortably cold, but it did provide an ample safety margin for the return trip. One significant problem was that the Lunar Module equipment could not extract sufficient amounts of carbon dioxide to make the atmosphere safe to breathe.
Improvised carbon dioxide removal systems conceived by ground personnel were assembled by the crew, and these successfully resolved the problem. On April 17, the Lunar Module was jettisoned one hour before entry into the Earth's atmosphere. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean within 6 km 4 miles of the recovery ship and were onboard the carrier within 45 minutes of touchdown. Apart from a urinary tract infection developed by one of the crewmen, the crew was in reasonably good health.
Six days and 1 km nautical miles after its launch, the hazardous journey of Apollo 13 had come to an end. Apollo 14 The third successful lunar expedition was commanded by America's first man in space, Alan B. Shepard, Jr. The mission, launched on January 31, , stressed geological studies and the emplacement of experimental packages. The launch was the first in the Apollo series to be delayed, this because the experience of Apollo 12 engendered caution when rain clouds were noted in the Cape Canaveral vicinity.
After insertion into the translunar trajectory, approximately six attempts were required before successfully docking the Command Module with the Lunar Module. The docked spacecraft were placed in very low lunar orbit, about 97 km 60 miles at the high point and 15 m 50 ft at the low point. This was the lowest lunar orbit executed in the docked configuration and another fuel saving maneuver for the lunar landing.
Following separation, the Command and Service Module was inserted into a km mile circular orbit. Some problems were experienced with the abort system in the Lunar Module landing radar after separation from the Command Module, but the spacecraft was nonetheless brought to a safe touchdown on February 5.
Hearings before the Committee on Science and Astronautics, U. House of Representatives. Government Printing Office Washington, D. Anon: The Apollo 13 Mission Review.
Senate, 91st Congress, 2nd Session. During this EVA, the astronauts took photographs of large boulders and collected geological samples. With the two-wheeled, two-legged, rickshaw type device, the astronauts set out for Cone Crater, 1. They were to bring the device up the crater, m ft to the rim, and roll stones down its inner side. After two hours and ten minutes, 50 minutes behind schedule, the task had to be abandoned because the crew was tiring seriously and their heart rates were elevated, to beats per minute in Shepard's case, and in Mitchell's.
Fortunately, no further docking problems occurred. A record amount of lunar surface material, 43 kg 95 lb , was returned for study on Earth. The Apollo 14 crew was the last to be quarantined after space flight. Their quarantine program, because of rigorous preflight procedures, was the most stringent observed.
After the exposure of the Apollo 13 crewman to a communicable disease, a special program was designed to curtail the number of contacts with other individuals prior to flight.
Only wives and a group of about people considered essential to the mission had any direct contact with the prime and backup crews.
Also, special air filtration equipment was installed in buildings they used. Three weeks from the time they took off from the lunar surface, the U. Apollo 15 The Apollo 15 mission was the fourth successful manned lunar landing mission, and the first in a series of three lunar missions designed to maximally utilize man's capability for scientific exploration of the lunar surface. Mission Commander, David R. Worden, began their twelve-day mission on July 26, The mission included extensive lunar extravehicular activity and was the first to use the Lunar Roving Vehicle figure The crew accomplished detailed orbital mapping of the lunar surface from orbit using a three camera system and a laser altimeter, and placed a subsatellite in lunar orbit designed to transmit data on the moon's environment for a period of one year.
The Apollo 15 Lunar Module, Falcon, landed on the moon approximately m ft from its target, along the base of the Apennine Mountains, some of the highest on the near side of the moon, whose peaks rise to m 12 ft above the plains. The landing site was selected to allow collection of lunar samples from a mare basin, mountains, and a rille in one mission.
Astronaut Scott described the lunar features as very smooth. He reported that the tops of the mountains were rounded, and that there were no sharp peaks or large boulders. Scott and Astronaut Irwin made three lunar excursions, two for seven hours duration and one for six.
Vehicle, set up the third lunar surface experiment package, and obtained lunar samples. The crew exceeded the planned 8 km 5 mile excursion radius and drove nearly They collected an astounding The Apollo 15 crew was the first to experience any serious physiological difficulty.
Irregular heart beats were noted on the lunar surface and, again, on the return flight to Earth. Bigeminies and premature auricular and ventricular contractions were seen. In one instance, an arrhythmia recorded during a sleep period was accompanied by a very low heart rate, 28 beats per minute. These arrhythmias are believed to have been linked to potassium deficits and excessive workloads.
There may also have been a relationship between preexisting, undetected coronary artery disease in one crewmember and the arrhythmias noted during the mission. The crew also recovered more slowly upon their return to Earth than did any prior or future crew. Sixty-seven hours after their lunar landing, Astronauts Scott and Irwin fired the ascent stage engine and left the lunar surface to rendezvous with the Command Module, Endeavor.
After a successful docking, the Lunar Module was jettisoned and impacted the moon at a previously determined target point to test the seismic equipment left behind. The Command Module remained in lunar orbit for two days to continue and complete scientific experiments. Spectrometric measurements were obtained of gamma ray, X-ray, and alpha particles to provide a geochemical compositional map of the moon's surface.
The tethered EVA was the first ever made for a practical working purpose during a space mission. The crew splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on August 7. On April 16, , after a delay of one month for technical problems, Apollo 16 was launched. It was the fourth mission for JohnW. Young, Commander. Charles M. Duke, Jr. Descartes Crater, the lunar landing site selected for Apollo 16, was chosen because it afforded the opportunity to bring back samples representing the oldest and youngest periods of the moon.
Topographical features of this site indicated it to be an area of lunar volcanic and chemical evolution. Minor problems were encountered on the outward flight which caused the crew to spend a significant amount of time troubleshooting. The first major crisis occurred after undocking of the two spacecraft on the 12th lunar orbit.
With just minutes to go before starting their final descent to the lunar surface, Astronauts Young and Duke were ordered to continue orbiting and to reduce the gap between themselves and the Command Module for possible redocking because of an oscillation problem in the Service Module propulsion system. Tests showed that the system was usable and safe, but the investigation of the problem delayed the lunar landing about six hours.
The crew landed m ft northwest of the planned landing site on a hilly and furrowed edge of the Kent Plateau in the Central Lunar Highlands, among the highest mountains on the lunar surface.
With the aid of the Lunar Rover, Young and Duke performed three excursions. The first lasted seven hours and 11 minutes. With an improved drill, they were able to obtain three-meter ft deep core samples during this EVA without the difficulty which had exhausted the Apollo 15 crew.
On the second extravehicular expedition, excellent television coverage permitted scientists on Earth to observe the nature of the landing site. To their surprise, there was no evidence of volcanic activity. On the third excursion, the crew drove the Lunar Rover to the rim of North Ray Crater, photographing and obtaining samples.
Ascent and docking went perfectly, but an incorrectly positioned switch caused the Lunar Module to tumble immediately after jettisoning. An evasive maneuver by the Command Module left the Lunar Module in lunar orbit, and it did not impact the lunar surface until much later than planned.
A second particles and fields subsatellite, like that launched by Apollo 15, was successfully ejected from the SIMBAY and placed in lunar orbit. During the return to Earth, the crewmen participated in a light flash observation session and took photographs for use in a Skylab Program study on the behavior and effects of particles emanating from the spacecraft.
The Command Module Pilot carried out an extravehicular activity which included the retrieval of film cassettes from the scientific instrument module cameras, inspection of the equipment, and activation of an experiment designed to provide data on microbial response to the space environment.
No irregular heart beats were recorded, and the crew recovered their preflight baseline physiological status in the normal period of time postflight.
On March 28, one day earlier than planned, Apollo 16 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The mission had lasted eleven days. Apollo 17 On December 7, , the last lunar landing mission was launched from the Kennedy Space Center. The day mission was manned by Eugene A.
Ceruan, Commander; Ronald E. Evans, Command Module Pilot; and Dr. Harrison H. Schmitt, Lunar Module Pilot who was also a geologist. The launch, illustrated in figure 16, was the first night launch. Taurus-Littrow was Apollo 17's lunar objective. The site was chosen in the hope that samples found there would answer two key questions left unanswered by previous mission samples. The first was whether the moon had been thermally inactive for the last 3.
Secondly, it was hoped that the Taurus-Littrow landing site would contain materials to bridge the critical gap left by previous samples, between 3. After three hours in Earth orbit, the spacecraft were propelled by the Saturn IV-B on their path to the moon. Eighty-six hours after launch, the spacecraft went into lunar orbit.
As on the four previous missions, the Saturn IV-B was maneuvered into position to impact the lunar surface after separation from the docked spacecraft. Impact occurred about km 84 miles from the planned site and was recorded by the passive seismometers deployed by Apollo 12, 14, 15, and After 21Yz hours in lunar orbit, the Lunar Module was undocked, and about three and one-half hours after that, Astronauts Cernan and Schmitt set their craft down on the southeastern rim of the Sea of Serenity at the Taurus-Littrow site.
The crew remained on the lunar surface for about 75 hours, and made three explorations, totaling 22 hours. Again, with the help of the Lunar Rover, large areas of the moon were traversed. At the end of the mission, the astronauts had covered 34 km 21 miles of lunar surface. The crew's first task was to deploy the Lunar Surface Experiment Package. This time, the ALSEP contained a heat flow experiment to replace a comparable experiment which had suffered a failure on Apollo The objective was to measure heat flow from the interior of the moon to the surface to provide an understanding of the moon's core temperature and, perhaps, the processes involved in its formation and activity.
Other experiments in the package included a lunar surface gravity experiment, an atmosphere composition experiment, instruments to detect micrometeorites, and seismic profile equipment for the measurement of moonquake activity, magnetic fields, solar wind, and other parameters.
The scientific yield of Apollo 17 was perhaps the richest of any Apollo lunar landing mission. The crew collected samples of a greater variety than any previously collected. They discovered significant materials indicating lunar volcanic activity.
On their second EVA, the astronauts discovered a unique, orange colored surface material never before observed on the moon. Postflight analysis indicated this material contained magnetite. The site had a very large landslide that was also sampled by the crew. By the end of their hour stay, the crew had collected kg lb of lunar materials. This was a record in the lunar exploration program. On previous missions, the Command Module Pilot had taken photographs of the moon with the panoramic and mapping cameras and had utilized the laser altimeter while in lunar orbit during the period of lunar surface exploration.
Three new experiments were included in the Service Module of Apollo 17 and were the responsibility of the Command Module Pilot. He conducted lunar atmospheric composition and density measurements with an ultraviolet spectrometer, used an infrared radiometer to map lunar thermal characteristics, and a lunar sounder for the acquisition of subsurface structural data.
The Lunar Module successfully mated with the Command Module and, as had been done on previous missions, the former was jettisoned as part of the seismic experiment after transfer of the crew.
The Command Module remained in lunar orbit for two days to complete the experiments begun by the Command Module Pilot. With this event, the Apollo Program was brought to a conclusion. The Apollo Lunar Landing Program spanned a seven-year period and included seventeen missions.
The 29 astronauts who flew in the Program spent a total of hours in flight. Twelve of them were placed on the moon for a total of more than four man-weeks and all were returned safely to Earth. The Apollo Program is viewed as one of the greatest scientific and engineering successes of man, a national event which held the attention of millions of people in this country and the world, and required the development of new and complex equipment ranging from the spacecraft itself to the tools and clothing used by the crewmen.
The Program made it possible to gather lunar material that has begun to disclose clues about the origin of our solar system. And, at last, we were certain that no life exists on the moon. The Apollo Program established that the psychological and physiological effects of the space environment on man were not at all as severe as had been predicted by some scientists.
But, perhaps the greatest significance of the Apollo Program lies in the fact that it provided information which will assist scientists and engineers in developing the biomedical and technical support necessary for man to venture still further into the solar system.
The health of Apollo crewmembers was a matter of genuine concern. An inflight illness, particularly should it occur during a critical mission phase, could have had serious consequences. To minimize the chance of illness, an extensive health maintenance program was conducted to ensure the highest of health standards. This section describes the clinical practices which were followed and certain special projects conducted to obtain information bcaring on the health of astronauts.
N76 Royce Hawkins, M. John F. Zieglschmid, M. Lyndon B. While the primary goal of the Apollo Program was to land men on the moon and return them safely to Earth, there were other very important medical objectives. The earlier Mercury and Gemini programs bad raised some concerns about the health and safety of future crews. For example, the high metabolic energy expenditure of extravehicular activity during the Gemini missions was unexpected. Before Apollo astronauts could safely explore the lunar surface, reliable predictors of energy cost and real-time monitoring techniques had to be developed.
Physiological changes were noted in individual crewmen, some more consistently than others. The most important of these changes was in cardiopulmonary status demonstrated by decreased exercise capacity, loss of red blood cell mass, and cardiovascular decon- ditioning demonstrated by a decrease in the effectiveness of antigravity cardio- vascular responses during postflight stress testing.
At the eIid of tile Gemini program, with man-hours logged in space, it was clear that man could engage in relatively long space flight without any serious threat to health. However, clarification was still required in many areas. First of all, because of the small number of individuals who flew in space and because of the variability of their responses, it was impossible to distinguish between space-related physiological changes and individual physiological variations.
Secondly, for those changes which were directly related to space flight, the relatively short mission durations precluded the identification of trends. In view of the foregoing considerations, four medical objectives were specified for the Apollo Program:. Ensuring crew safety from a medical standpoint.
This objective required that every effort be made to identify, eliminate, or minimize anything which. Improving the probability of mission success by ensuring that sufficient medical information was available for management decisions. Preventing back-contamination from the lunar surface. Continuing to further the understanding of the biomedical changes incident to space flight. This objective was formulated to detect, document, and understand changes occurring during space flight.
The program to ensure crew safety commenced long before the Apollo Program itself with the development and implementation of the medical selection and screening program for astronauts. Apollo astronauts were drawn from a pool of individuals who were thoroughly screened to preclude any physical or physiological problems which would jeopardize either the mission or the astronaut candidate.
Later, special measures were taken to further protect the health and enhance the safety of those astronauts chosen for specific Apollo missions. These included preflight medical examinations, a health stabilization program, drug sensitivity testing of astronauts for all medications aboard the spacecraft, and other measures. The preflight medical program was designed to preclude, as far as possible, the development of any clinical medical problems during space flight.
Since no preventive medicine program, however carefully conceived, can ever guarantee the absence of illness or disease, medications were carried onboard the Apollo spacecraft. The contents of the medical kit were revised as need indicated throughout the Apollo Program.
Onboard bioinstrumentation was provided to monitor vital signs for rapid diagnosis of any physiological difficulty in a crewmember and to provide medical information required for mission management.
Additional information was transmitted via voice communication between the crew and the ground-based flight surgeons. During extravehicular activity, methods were added to provide metabolic rate assessment. Opportunities for inflight medical investigations were severely restricted on the Apollo missions because of conflict with the principal operational objectives.
Furtherance of the understanding of the effects of space flight on human physiological functioning had to rely almost exclusively on comparison of preflight and postflight observations. These were carefully selected to focus attention on the areas which appeared most likely to be affected, for example, cardiovascular function.
Other areas were also investigated for unforeseen changes and corroborative information. The sections which follow describe medical procedures and findings for Apollo astronauts in the preflight, inflight, and postflight phases of the Apollo missions. Preflight Procedures and Findings. The procedures implemented in the preflight period for Apollo missions had five major objectives. These were:. Clinical Aspects of Crew Health The implementation of the health stabilization program and other preventive measures.
Determination of individual drug sensitivity to the contents of the Apollo medical kits. Providing baseline data against which to compare postflight data for determi- nation of space flight effects. Prevention of any situations which might delay or otherwise interfere with operational aspects of the missions. The procedures performed in the preflight period ensured improved performance of flight tasks and, with rare exceptions, prevented the outbreak of illness inflight. This outcome was, in part, the result of medical screening and selection programs designed to provide physically competent crews.
Observation and semi-isolation programs also helped to detect latent ailments which might have produced frank symptoms during flight. Finally, a training course was presented to astronauts to acquaint them with stresses of space flight and their effects upon the human organism.
Rigorous astronaut selection standards were established to identify:. Individuals who were physically capable of performing astronaut duties; specifically those possessing the necessary physical and psychomotor capabilities and not subject to incapacitating physiological disturbances when exposed to the various stresses of space flight.
Individuals who were free of underlying physical defects or disease processes which could shorten their useful flight careers. Apollo astronauts were initially medically screened by techniques which varied only in minor degree from those applied to the first seven Mercury astronauts. The standards used closely approximated U. Air Force Flying Class I Standards, except in the selection of scientist-astronauts where visual standards were relaxed to qualify a sufficient number of candidates.
These examinations were performed at the U. Johnson Space Center medical staff. Listed below are the components of the examination used for medical selection.
Medical history and review of systems. Physical examination. Electrocardiographic examinations, including routine electrocardiographic studies at rest, during hypervcntilation, carotid massage, and breath holding, a double Master exercise tolerance test, a cold pressor test, and a precordial map. Vectorcardiographic study. Phonocardiographic study.
Tilt table studies. Pulmonary function studies. Radiographic studies, including cholecystograms, upper GI series, lumbosacral spine, chest, cervical spine, and skull films.
Body composition study, using tritium dilution. Laboratory examinations, including complete hematology workup, urinalysis, serologic test, glucose tolerance test, acid alkaline phosphatase, BUN, sodium, potassium, bicarbonate, chloride, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, uric acid, bilirubin direct and indirect , thymol turbidity, cephalin flocculation, SGOT, SGPT, total protein with albumin and globulin, separate determinations of Alpha 1 and Alpha 2, Beta and Gamma globulins, protein bound iodine, creatinine, cholesterol, total lipids and phospholipids, hydroxyproline, and RBC intracellular sodium and potassium.
Stool specimens were examined for occult blood, and microscopically for ova and parasites. A urine culture for bacterial growth was done, and a hour specimen analyzed for ketosteroids and hydroxycorticosteroids. Detailed examination of the sinuses, larynx, and Eustachian tubes. Vestibular studies. Diagnostic hearing tests. Visual fields and special eye examinations. General surgical evaluation.
Dental examination. Neurological examination. Electroencephalographic studies. Centrifuge testing. The preflight medical examinations for Apollo crewmembers included detailed physical examinations and special studies. The physical examinations commenced 30 days prior to launch and ended on the day of lift-off. The special studies involved collection of baseline data for comparison with postflight findings.
The areas of particular interest were microbiology, immuno-hematology, clinical chemistry, and cardiopulmonary function. Baseline data collection in each of these areas, of course, had bearing on crew health, but was additionally obtained in order to answer the following critical questions: 1.
Did a change take place in a particular dependent variable? Was the change significantly different from that occurring in a control group?
What was the extent of the change? What was the time course of the observed change? Was it possible to provide causal interpretations? The following sections provide details concerning the preflight physical examinations and special baseline studies.
Physical Examinations. The physical examinations of Apollo crewmembers were intended to document the crewmenbers' physical qualifications for the mission, to detect any medical problems which might require remedial or preventive intervention, and to provide baseline data for postflight comparison.
Physical examinations were conducted in the following manner:. Preliminary examination at F days. At this time, interval history, vital signs, and a general physical examination were conducted.
Interim examination at F days. General physical examination, dental examina- tion, and monitoring of vital signs were accomplished.
The preliminary and interim examinations included the following procedures:. Comprehensive examination at F-5 days. The comprehensive examination consisted of the procedures on the following page. Ears: Visual inspection of external ears, auditory canals and tympanic membranes, screening Rudmose audiometry. Nose: Visual inspection, sinus transillumination, if indicated by recent history.
Throat: Direct examination of middle pharynx. Eyes: Same as for preliminary examination, plus distant and near visual acuity, near-point of accommodation, phorias, and visual fields. Cursory examination - F4 to F-O days.
Brief physical examinations and histories were conducted in the last four days before flight. These included recording of vital signs, oral temperature, pulse, blood pressure, weight, plus a brief examination of the ears, nose, throat, heart, and lungs.
Other signs and systems were examined as indicated by the medical history. The scheduled physical examinations varied slightly with mission requirements. However, these had to commence not earlier than 30 and not later than 21 days prior to lift-off in order to provide sufficient time to diagnose and treat any illnesses of recent onset. Some of the significant medical findings that occurred during the day preflight period are listed in table 1. The comprehensive examination performed five days prior to launch was intended to accurately document the physical status of each crewmember at the outset of the mission.
The final examination prior to flight involved last minute recordings of critical parameters to provide the most reliable basis that could be obtained for postflight comparisons. The following paragraphs provide some detail on various aspects of the physical examination.
Dental Examinations. Dental care was provided as a regular part of the ongoing health care program of astronauts. However, special measures were taken prior to missions to preclude, wherever possible, dental problems during flight.
All crewmen were evaluated at or about F Because of the relatively short duration of the Apollo flights, emphasis was placed on general observation rather than definitive quantitative research. Diagnosis Number of Occurrences.
Pressure suit abrasions 2. Blister, left toe 1. Pressure suit callouses, scapulae and iliac crests 1. Carious lesion, mesial 1. Cellulitis of the hand secondary to laceration 1. Conjunctival injection 3 Dermatitis 3 Dermatophytosis, feet 2.
Folliculitis, abdomen 1 Furunculosis 2. Gastroenteritis 7. Gingival burn 1. Rematomas, secondary to trauma 3. Inflammation, medial canthus, right eye 1. Influenza syndrome 3. Keratosic plaque 1.
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