| Original photo by History in HD/ Unsplash |
| The Apollo 11 astronauts had to fill out a customs form for their lunar samples. | After spending eight days, three hours, 18 minutes, and 35 seconds in space — with 21 of those hours spent on the moon — Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins splashed down 920 miles southwest of Hawaii. The three NASA astronauts had achieved the seemingly impossible on a mission that was the very definition of "otherworldly." But once back on Earth, they were back in the clutches of human bureaucracy — because after they landed, the Apollo 11 heroes had to fill out a U.S. Customs form.
Later posted on the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website in honor of the flight's 40th anniversary in 2009, the straight-laced form belies the very unearthly information written on the page. Flight number? Apollo 11. Layover? Moon. Cargo? Moon rock and moon dust samples. Anything that could lead to the spread of disease? TBD. NASA has confirmed that the form is authentic, though one spokesperson described it as "a little joke" played on the astronauts upon their return. Today, astronauts still go through customs on their way to and from the International Space Station. Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield described passing through customs in Kazakhstan — after glimpsing the entire world through a small window only hours before — as "a funny but necessary detail of returning to Earth."
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 | | During the BBC's broadcast of the Apollo 11 landing, British band Pink Floyd performed a seven-minute-long jam. | | |
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| During the BBC's broadcast of the Apollo 11 landing, British band Pink Floyd performed a seven-minute-long jam. |  |  |
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