NASA study examines allergies to moon dust
Allergies are annoying on Earth, but imagine having them on the moon while wearing a spacesuit: Your eyes are watering, nose is itchy and the helmet acts as an effective barrier for the tissue.
Some Apollo astronauts reported allergy-like symptoms after tracking dust into their vehicles. But were the symptoms due to actual allergies or to the moon dust irritating their nose and throat? Now, a group of researchers at NASA’s Johnson Space Center is seeking to answer the question:
Can humans develop an allergy to lunar dust?
“What we’re hoping for is a negative finding,” said Brian Crucian, a research immunologist at the Johnson Space Center. “We don’t want people to be reacting to lunar dust.”
Before NASA returns humans to the moon, Crucian will use actual lunar dust from the Apollo missions — a very small amount that will be measured in micrograms or grams — to answer the question.
Allergies are caused when a person’s immune system inappropriately reacts to something that’s not necessarily harmful to humans, such as pollen, dander or peanuts. The immune system thinks these substances as trying to attack the body, prompting allergy cells to mobilize.
These cells create antibodies and release chemicals, such as histamine, to defeat the “attacker.” But in doing this, they inadver
tently cause symptoms that can range from irritating to life threatening.
In the Johnson Space Center experiment scheduled for next year, researchers will take blood samples from healthy people and grow them in a cell culture. Some cultures will receive common allergens, such as proteins from pollen or animal dander, and other cultures will receive moon dust. A final group will receive no stimuli.
Researchers will then search for allergic reactions in all of these cultures by measuring the production of histamine, antibodies associated with allergy cells and other chemicals known to be emitted when the immune system overreacts.
Some of these cell cultures will be examined for an immediate allergic reaction and others will be left for 14 days to see if allergic sensitivity to moon dust can develop over time. Ultimately, results from the cultures with known allergens — pollen and animal dander — will be compared to results from the moon dust cultures to see if the latter prompts the same immune system response.
“We’re going to recreate in the test tube exactly what would happen in your nose,” Crucian said.
Recently, Crucian’s research was among 21 proposals selected to receive NASA funding. These proposals, focused on astronaut health and performance for future missions to the moon and Mars, will receive a total of $4.3 million during a one- or two-year period. Crucian’s “Immunogenicity/Allergenicity of Lunar Dust” proposal will receive up to $150,000.
Torin McCoy, Environmental Sciences Branch chief at Johnson Space Center, said knowing if moon dust can cause allergic reactions helps NASA prepare the crew and pack proper medication.
“It would allow you to be informed about how a crew member might respond ahead of time,” McCoy said.
But there could still be unknowns when astronauts reach the moon. The human body, particularly the immune system, reacts differently while in space. Some astronauts on the International Space Station report atypical allergies or dermatitis, which could be caused by any number of factors ranging from microgravity to stress to radiation.
For astronauts orbiting the Earth, Crucian said their immune system changes have not caused any serious, life-threatening medical issues. But factors such as stress and radiation will only increase as humans travel deeper into space, which is why researchers want to learn as much as possible before humans return to the moon.
And hopefully, astronauts can leave their Claritin on Earth.