Eighteen Kitty Cats

 

Neil Armstrong set foot on the moon fifty-seven years ago yesterday. Over 600 million people worldwide watched the event on television. Many of us were convinced it wouldn’t be long before there’d be scientific outposts on the moon. Surely within our lifetimes, we’d book lunar vacations. That didn’t happen, and probably never will. One reason is the high cost of fuel we’d need to escape Earth’s gravity. Another is the hostile environment we’d need to deal with once we were there. Earth’s atmosphere protects us from solar radiation, cosmic rays, and micrometeorites. The moon has no such protection. Then there’s dust. The moon is covered with regolith: sharp, toxic, magnetic dust that infiltrates and destroys equipment and people. It chewed through astronauts’ boots, scratched visors and contaminated sample cases. Tracked into lunar modules, it became airborne and was inhaled, causing “lunar hay fever.” Short-term exposure means sneezing, congestion and sore throat. Long-term exposure threatens lungs.