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Mobile Quarantine Facility MQF003

The Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF) is a converted Airstream trailer used by NASA to quarantine astronauts returning from Apollo lunar missions. Its purpose was to prevent the spread of any contagions from the moon, though the existence of such contagions was considered unlikely. It functioned by maintaining a lower pressure inside and filtering any air vented.

 

The MQF contained living and sleeping facilities as well as communications which the astronauts used to converse with their families. The Apollo 11 crew also used this to speak with President Nixon who personally welcomed them back to Earth aboard the recovery ship after splashdown.

 

Four MQFs were built for NASA:

 

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Virginia

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Uploaded on February 9, 2012
Taken on December 27, 2011