At 12:51 EDT on July 24, 1969, Apollo 11, the U.S. spacecraft that
had taken the first astronauts to the surface of the moon, safely
returned to Earth.
The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins
in a famous appeal President John F. Kennedy made to a special
joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961.
President Richard Nixon (right) 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. (Image credit: NASA)
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