The Bacteria That Came Back from the Moon
Astronauts brought home a camera that had sat on the Moon for two and a half years, and scientists grew living bacteria from inside it.
What was reported
The robot lander Surveyor 3 touched down on the Moon in April 1967. In November 1969 the Apollo 12 astronauts landed nearby on purpose, walked over to it, and cut off parts including its television camera to bring home and study.
In the lab, scientists cultured a common bacterium, Streptococcus mitis, from foam inside the camera. It was announced that germs had apparently survived two and a half years in the cold vacuum of the Moon.
Explanations offered
Later reviews of the records and film of the work showed that the camera had been handled in ways that could easily have contaminated it after it came back, and many scientists now think the bacteria came from Earth after the return. Whether any microbe could survive that long on the Moon is still studied.
- When
- 1967–1969
- Where
- Surveyor 3 landing site, Ocean of Storms, the Moon
- Witnesses
- NASA scientists who examined the camera
- Status
- Mostly explained
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.