I saw the Surveyor mirror in a clean room at the Dudley Observatory in Albany, New York. Dudley was associated with SUNYA. It was being examined under an electron microscope for micrometeoroid impacts. This was in the early 70s. I never heard a thing from the scientists there about bacterial contamination, but the issue never came up. In those days, Dudley was the premiere place for studies of interplanetary dust and meteoroids, under the leadership of Curt Hemenway. They had 2 experiments on Skylab, one that exposed several surfaces to space that were returned to record impacts and another to measure the gegenschein and zodiacal light. The Dudley Observatory no longer exists in Albany, but is still an organization. It is a shame it is not the place it used to be. At one time it published the Astronomical Journal.
http://www.dudleyobservatory.org/
It says on their web site that they are looking for a new director. Maybe Phil could revive the place. They did some really good science there.

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John Kierein on 2002-05-07 10:27 ]</font>

<font size=-1>[ This Message was edited by: John Kierein on 2002-05-07 10:29 ]</font>