On this day in 1969, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that had taken the
first astronauts to the surface of the moon, safely returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean.

United States President Richard Nixon was in the central Pacific recovery area
to welcome the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the USS Hornet, prime recovery
ship for the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, on July 24, 1969. The
Apollo 11 astronauts are, from left, Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz
Aldrin. They were quarantined after splashdown to ensure they did not bring
back any contamination from the moon.