Comment on Moon Dust

MossyFeathers@pawb.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

• dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  IMO (not a scientist), moon dust is basically pulverized glass, only without the benefits of weathering and erosion. So think of lots of microscopic sharp, abrasive, shards of finely pulverized volcanic rock and obsidian. Get that stuff anywhere near a mucous membrane - eyes, nose, mouth, throat - and it’s going to irritate you. At the same time, it’s pretty much intert; well, at least the parts that don’t instantly react to oxygen or humidity that is. My guess is that Schmidt is just a little more sensitive to it, or perhaps he rubbed his eyes with a glove by accident.

  And for the uninitiated, it’s well documented that everyone in the lander was physically exposed to moon dust. There was no airlock on the lander, so every excursion resulted in bringing whatever was on the suits right into the cabin. They reported that it “smelled” like burned gunpowder, so they were at least all inhaling the stuff.

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  • TeamAssimilation@infosec.pub ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

    I think moon dust doesn’t qualify as an allergen because breathing sharp glass dust is not something people are supposed to do without harm. IIRC ithings that are intrinsically irritant, like smoke or pepper, don’t qualify as allergens.

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    • TheRedSpade@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      An allergy isn’t the allergen causing harm. An allergy is when your body FALSELY identifies something as a threat. The symptoms you experience are your body’s immune response.

      So no, things that actually do the harm themselves are not allergens.

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      • Klear@lemmy.world ⁨11⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        TIL I’m not allergic to conservative bullshit.

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      • ouRKaoS@lemmy.today ⁨20⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        Wait… So I’m not allergic to radiation!?

        Superpowers here I come!!!

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    • Uli@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

      We should let him know he’s not allergic. He might be going out of his way to avoid moon dust for no reason.

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      • pyre@lemmy.world ⁨21⁩ ⁨hours⁩ ago

        astronauts are such goofballs

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• zaphod@sopuli.xyz ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  I don’t know how you think allergies work but if it was actually an allergic reaction it probably went something like immune system encounters a foreign never seen before substance and overreacts. Alternatively he was just the unlucky guy who didn’t clean his suit enough and breathed in more of it than the others.

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• PunnyName@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨day⁩ ago

  Shit happens.

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