The USS Hornet Museum MQF is serial number 004. It was a prototype model and eventually used to house the crew of Apollo 14. Astronauts Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, and Stuart Roosa, along with a flight surgeon and an MQF technician, lived inside this MQF from February 9-12, 1971. Apollo 13 never had to undergo quarantine procedures as it never landed on the Moon. Apollo 14 was the last flight to be subjected to quarantine procedures.
What is an MQF?
This Airstream-based trailer is referred to as a Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF). NASA contracted with Airstream to modify 4 of their travel trailers so they could be used as portable quarantine vehicles. The astronauts of Apollo 11 were the first humans to set foot on the Moon. Scientists worried they and/or the lunar rocks might contain a pathogen that could harm Earth’s inhabitants or ecosystem. NASA decided to quarantine the astronauts, equipment, and lunar samples returning from the Moon’s surface for a period of 21 days. NASA planned to quarantine the first four lunar missions or until they were sure there were no harmful effects to the Earth.
NASA’s quarantine Plan
Prior to leaving their Apollo 11 spacecraft after splashdown, the 3 astronauts donned special biological isolation garments, completely covering their bodies. They were then hoisted into a helicopter and flown back to the USS Hornet. Immediately after exiting the helicopter on the ship’s hangar deck, they entered the MQF and were locked inside with two NASA team members – a flight surgeon and an MQF technician. Days later the MQF was flown from Honolulu to Johnson Space Center, and all 5 personnel were then ensconced in a special laboratory for the rest of the 21-day quarantine period.
