Bizarre as it may seem the Apollo 11 astronauts after returning from the first ever successful voyage to the Moon were made to go through customs!
It was in 1969 on July 20, the entire was waiting with bated breath as for the first time in history man was to set foot on the Moon. Having completed their voyage in style and complete success, the men on their return expected a hero’s welcome and felicitation on a grand scale. This they got but there is a catch now as they had to clear a customs form when they landed on Earth!
Now the Internet and cyber world is abuzz and agog as one of the original astronauts who had undertaken this first voyage — Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin — shared an image of the customs form that he and the crew had to fill when they landed.
Aldrin was the second man who made the historic walk on the Moon and he was accompanied by Neil Armstrong, who was the first one to step on Earth’s satellite. They had gone on the Apollo 11 lunar module, Eagle.
Aldrin, sharing this very significant and vital bit of trivia with Internet users, wrote something very humorous: “Imagine spending eight days in space, including nearly 22 hours on the Moon and returning home to Earth only to have to go through customs. Apollo11.”
Imagine spending 8 days in space, including nearly 22 hours on the Moon and returning home to Earth only to have to go through customs! 😀 #Apollo11 pic.twitter.com/FvtSVwSD1f
— Dr. Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 28, 2021
In the picture one can see the form titled “general declaration”. It is dated July 24, 1969. While the owner or operator is listed as National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the details about Armstrong, Aldrin as well as Michael Collins who was aboard the Apollo 11 spaceship, along with their signatures, are also detailed.
Funnily the category of cargo in the form species “moon rock and moon dust samples”. This had been collected by the team from the Moon to be brought back to the Earth.
Obviously Aldrin’s tweet went viral on the social media with viewers’ reaction ranging from happiness to awe to amazement.
One person noted the question in the form, “Any other conditions on board that may lead to the spread of disease?” was answered as, “To be determined.” On this the person commented: “The moon men might have given the crew a moon cold along with moon cheese.”
One of Aldrin’s twitter followers posed a profound question wondering if the trio would be sent back to Moon if they refused to fill the form.
In a report by Space.com it was mentioned that the form was posted to the US Customs and Border Protection website in 2009. It was done at that time to mark the Apollo 11 mission's 40th anniversary.
The NASA spokesperson John Yembrick, vouchsafes for the authenticity of the document to space.com. He said: “Yes, it's authentic. It was a little joke at the time.”
