The Last Man To Walk On the Moon, Harrison Schmitt, Was Allergic To Moon

The last man to walk on the moon - Harrison Schmitt - suffered from an allergic reaction on the mission in 1972, when he inadvertently inhaled lunar dust.

Schmitt, who was then 37, was part of the Apollo 17 mission, which landed on the lunar surface on December 11, 1972. As part of their mission, Schmitt spent hours collecting dust and samples from the surface of the moon.

NASA

While speaking at the Starmus Festival in 2019, he stated that the particles that had stuck on his spacesuit had caused an immediate reaction after he took the suit off.

Talking about his experience, Schmitt said that the insides of his nose became swollen and that the allergic reaction could be heard in his voice.

As per The Telegraph, he told the Starmus audience about his experience of inhaling Moondust: "First time I smelled the dust I had an allergic reaction, the inside of my nose became swollen, you could hear it in my voice. But that gradually went away for me, and by the fourth time I inhaled lunar dust I didn't notice that."

NASA

"Whereas a flight surgeon taking suits out of the Apollo 17 command module, after we had splashed down, he had such a reaction that he had to stop doing what he was doing," he said.

Schmitt had suggested that some individuals need to be tested for allergic reactions if they are going to be exposed chronically to the moon dust. He said whenever NASA once again sends people to the moon, it is critical for concerned experts to know that they should avoid exposure to lunar dust at all costs.

"For some individuals we need to find out whether they are going to have a reaction, if they are going to be exposed chronically to Moondust," Schmitt said.

"Now my suggestion is don't ever let them be exposed to lunar dust and there are many engineering solutions since I was flying to keep dust out of the cabin, to keep it off the suit. It's going to be primarily an engineering problem," he added.

Schmitt is one of only four living people to have walked on the moon - the others are Buzz Aldrin, David Scott and Charles Duke. He swapped his NASA career for the world of politics in 1975, becoming a senator in 1977.

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