NASA says 1969 moon landing lab to be demolished next year

NASA says the Houston building where Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong and his colleagues emerged from quarantine after their 1969 moon mission has fallen into disrepair and will be demolished.

The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday that the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Johnson Space Center hasn't been used for two years and will likely be torn down next year.

The building, completed in 1967, was designed to isolate the astronauts and lunar rock samples until it was clear they weren't carrying disease.

A 2015 economic analysis determined that the historic building has structural and electrical problems and can't be saved. A replacement building will house artifacts saved from the original lab.

NASA's decision comes just months after celebrations to mark the 50th anniversary of the first lunar footsteps by Apollo 11 astronauts.

-PTI