Lunar Receiving Laboratory (1969-1972)

Tom R. Chambers worked as a research analyst in the Biological Sciences section of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory during Project Apollo (1969-1972). He subjected various animal species to the Lunar Fines (soil) to look for pathogens that might be a threat to the biosphere.

In the above photo (left), team leader, Landrum Young injects a quail with a Lunar soil suspension as Chambers assists. The suspension was prepared from the soil brought back from the Moon by the Apollo 11 astronauts. Notice the containment cabinets (The Lunar Quarantine Program) that Chambers and Young are working in. They co-wrote a scientific article on the exsanguination of the mouse to obtain a blood sample for testing after exposure to the Lunar soil suspension. It was published in the Journal of the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (JAALAS), and it received "Best Technical Paper" published in the journal for 1973 by the American Association for Laboratory Animal Science (AALAS). The above photo (right) shows a schematic of the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (courtesy of LIFE magazine). The laboratory where Chambers worked is circled in red.

Lunar Receiving Laboratory Project History

Lunar Receiving Laboratory

Chambers had the opportunity to return to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (Building 37) and visit the Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility (Building 31) in 2016. A Facebook photo album follows:

37/31

He was invited to give a public presentation, "Fifty Years Ago at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory" as part of the "Apollopalooza" event (Apollo 11 50th Anniversary Celebration [1969-2019]), Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, Denver, Colorado (July 16, 2019 [2:15-3:15pm, Lowry Room]). He also gave the same presentation and a "NASA/School" presentation to teachers, and he conducted an Apollo Space Summer Camp for students (8-12 years old) (July 17, 2019 [8:30am-3:00pm, Education Department]). The photos below show his activities at the museum as well as a portrait with Gene Kranz, former NASA Chief Flight Director for the Gemini/Apollo missions.

Pertinent links:

Books at Blurb:

Apollo Program: Missions 1 and 7-17

Apollo Dialogues, Etc.

Books at Amazon:

Apollo Program: Missions 1 and 7-17

Apollo Dialogues, Etc.

Project Apollo for the Classroom

Apollo Pics: Edited/Enhanced Photographs Made by the Apollo Astronauts

PROJECT APOLLO - Photographs and Interpretations

School Days, NASA, and the "Space Race"

Moon Rocks

Apollo Alphabet - ABCs and Space Exploration

ABC Apollo

Technical Papers:

http://tomrchambers.com/las.pdf

http://tomrchambers.com/las2.pdf

Videos (YouTube)

"Project Apollo for the Classroom"

"Apollo"

"Apollo Program - Missions 1 and 7-17"

"Apollo 11 - Planting of the Flag"

"Gemini"

"Neil Armstrong's First Photopan on the Moon's Surface"

"Apollo 17 Ascent Stage Liftoff - A Study in Stability"

Zoom Presentation of "Fifty Years Ago at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory" to Shalom Austin (Austin, Texas) Membership and Other Attendees (Summer, 2020)

PDFs:

Apollo Program: Missions 1 and 7-17

Project Apollo Dialogues, Etc.

Project Gemini

Apollo 11 50th Anniversary (1969-2019)

Apollo (7-17) 50th Anniversary

Fifty Years Ago at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (Project Apollo), 1969-1972

Fifty Years Ago at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory (Project Apollo), 1969-1972 and Interview at SPAZIO Magazine (May, 2020, Italy) (external link to article on SPAZIO website)

School and NASA

Younger Summer Camp Workshop, "Apollopalooza" Event (Apollo 11 50th Anniversary [1969-2019]), Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, July 17, 2019

RESULTS - Younger Summer Camp Workshop, "Apollopalooza" Event (Apollo 11 50th Anniversary [1969-2019]), Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum, July 17, 2019

Project Apollo for the Classroom

School Days, NASA, and the "Space Race"

Lunar Sample Laboratory Facility (Building 31) (NASA)

Lunar Module Shadows on the Moon's Surface

School Days, NASA, and the "Space Race"/Fifty Years Ago at the Lunar Receiving Laboratory

PROJECT APOLLO - Photographs and Interpretations

Apollo Triptychs

PROJECT APOLLO - The Kandinsky Effect

Apollo Pics - Edited/Enhanced Photographs Made by the Apollo Astronauts

Apollo Alphabet - ABCs and Space Exploration

ABC Apollo

Posters:

Mercury, Gemini, Apollo Program: Missions 1 and 7-17

Project Apollo Dialogues, 50th Anniv. - Apollo 7/8/9/10

50th Anniv. - Apollo 11/12/13/14/15/16/17

Lunar Rocks, Apollo Landing Sites, Armstrong Photo Pan, Lunar Sample Lab

Moon Series, Gilruth Series, Chambers Series, Apollo Composites, Apollo Misc. 1, Apollo Misc. 2, Lunar Module Shadows

JFK Series, Project Apollo for the Classroom, Space Misc.

Photographs:

Apollo 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Apollo 13, 14, 15, 16, 17