I always thought the insistence on 100% adherence to the sealed airlock was a bit of vanity. When they had to take one of the residents out for surgery, and sent them back in with some food and supplies, the press treated it like a betrayal.

But science isn't an all-or-nothing effort. It was only a big deal because the PR machine insisted there was absolute isolation. Needing to adjust the experiment slightly midway through doesn't invalidate the effort or the insights that came out of it.