24 July 1969. The command module is lowered onto the deck of the USS Hornet to be prepared for transport back to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. At the top are the three air sacks that inflated to right the module when it came to rest upside-down after splashdown. Credit: NASA

Apollo 11's return to Earth, 24 July 1969

Having set foot on the Moon, the Apollo 11 astronauts returned safely to Earth just days later. But they weren't ready to return to normality just yet.

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Iain Todd

Published: July 14, 2019 at 11:47 am

The Apollo 11 Command Module Columbia splashed down in the Pacific Ocean with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin on board at 11:49 am CDT on 24 July 1969.

The crew awaited pickup by the USS Hornet and, once back on dry land, were put into quarantine for two weeks.

NASA captured some amazing images of the astronauts' return to Earth, recording their journey from floating on a life raft off the coast of Hawaii to exiting quarantine and returning to life on Earth.

A montage of images taken by the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the Columbia command module as they near their destination on the two-day journey home. Credit: NASA
24 July 1969. Columbia made splashdown at 4.50pm GMT. Half an hour later, the crew, dressed in their isolation garments, wait to be picked up by helicopter while a Navy diver secures the open hatch. Credit: NASA
24 July 1969. On hearing the news of a safe splashdown celebratory cigars are lit at mission control in Houston. Credit: NASA
24 July 1969. Three hours after splashdown in the Pacific, the command module is hoisted aboard its recovery ship, the aircraft carrier USS Hornet. Credit: NASA
24 July 1969. The command module is lowered onto the deck of the USS Hornet to be prepared for transport back to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. At the top are the three air sacks that inflated to right the module when it came to rest upside-down after splashdown. Credit: NASA
24 July 1969. Just over an hour after splashdown, the crew land on the USS Hornet and are directed from the helicopter straight into the mobile quarantine facility, a converted Airstream trailer. Credit: NASA
Such was the importance of Apollo 11’s safe return that President Nixon joined the USS Hornet in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to greet the astronauts, despite being unable to shake their hands. Credit: NASA
26 July 1969. The crew relax in the quarantine facility while the USS Hornet sails for Hawaii. Credit: NASA
Despite being restricted to their trailer, the crew were afforded the traditional guard of honour and cake-cutting ceremony aboard their recovery ship. Credit: NASA
25 July 1969. NASA scientists are delighted to take charge of the first of Apollo 11’s sample return containers full of lunar rocks, after it arrives by air at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston. Credit: NASA
26 July 1969. When it arrives in Hawaii, the mobile quarantine facility still containing the crew is off-loaded from the USS Hornet ready for its flight back to Houston. Credit: NASA
27 July 1969. Still in their quarantine trailer on arrival in Houston, the crew see their wives for the first time since returning to Earth. From left: Patricia Collins, Jan Armstrong and Joan Aldrin. Credit: NASA
10 August 1969. Finally released from quarantine in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory, Houston, Armstrong is greeted by friends in the crew reception area. Credit: NASA
10 August 1969. Collins and Aldrin both look relieved on their release from quarantine in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory. Ahead of them is a 45-day world tour. Credit: NASA

Iain Todd

Science journalist

Iain Todd is BBC Sky at Night Magazine's Content Editor. He fell in love with the night sky when he caught his first glimpse of Orion, aged 10.
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