Planetary quarantine requirements associated with the launch of two Viking spacecraft necessitated microbiological assessment during assembly and testing at Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center. Samples were collected from selected surface of the Viking Lander Capsules (VLC), Orbiters, (VO), and Shrouds at predetermined intervals during assembly and testing. Approximately 7,000 samples were assayed. Levels of bacterial spores per square meter on the VLC-1 and VLC-2 were 1.6 x 10(2) and 9.7 x 10(1), respectively, prior to dry-heat sterilization. The ranges of aerobic mesophilic microorganisms detected on the VO-1 and VO-2 at various sampling events were 4.2 x 10(2) to 4.3 x 10(3) and 2.3 x 10(2) to 8.9 x 10(3)/m2, respectively. Approximately 1,300 colonies were picked from culture plates, identified, lypholipized, and stored for future reference. About 75% of all isolates were microorganisms considered indigenous to humans; the remaining isolates were associated with soil and dust in the environment. The percentage of microorganisms of human origin was consistent with results obtained with previous automated spacecraft but slightly lower than those observed for manned (Apollo) spacecraft.
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机译：与两架维京号航天器的发射相关的行星检疫要求，需要在卡纳维拉尔角和肯尼迪航天中心的组装和测试过程中进行微生物评估。在组装和测试期间，以预定的时间间隔从维京着陆舱（VLC），轨道飞行器（VO）和护罩的选定表面收集样品。分析了大约7,000个样品。在干热灭菌之前，VLC-1和VLC-2上每平方米的细菌孢子水平分别为1.6 x 10（2）和9.7 x 10（1）。在各种采样事件下在VO-1和VO-2上检测到的好氧嗜温微生物的范围为4.2 x 10（2）至4.3 x 10（3）和2.3 x 10（2）至8.9 x 10（3）/ m2 ， 分别。从培养板中挑选出大约1300个菌落，进行鉴定，磷脂化并保存以备将来参考。所有分离株中约有75％是被认为是人类固有的微生物。其余的分离物与环境中的土壤和灰尘有关。人源微生物的百分比与以前的自动航天器获得的结果一致，但略低于载人（阿波罗）航天器的观察结果。
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