Points of travel: Houston, Cape Kennedy, the moon, the Pacific Ocean, Hawaii. That might be the most interesting travel form ever, and it belongs to American astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Aldrin has been Tweeting some of his paperwork from his lunar mission and among the papers is a voucher for his expenses. Lucky for Aldrin, he didn't have to pay for the rocket fuel to get him, Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins to the moon - Aldrin's travel expense claim basically covered the use of a private auto while on Earth. According to Aldrin's documents, "government meals and quarters" were provided throughout the July 1969 mission.
#TBT My mission director @Buzzs_xtina's favorite piece of my memorabilia. My travel voucher to the moon. #Apollo11 pic.twitter.com/c89UyOfvgY
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 30, 2015
And even astronauts have to go through customs. "Moon rock and moon dust samples," must have been on the approved list in 1969, but we wouldn't recommend trying it yourself today.
Yes the #Apollo11 crew also signed customs forms. We brought back moon rocks & moon dust samples. Moon disease TBD. pic.twitter.com/r9Sn57DeoW — Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) August 2, 2015
No one on board Apollo 11 had any illness aside from "other than airsickness or the effects of accidents," according to documents filled out at the Honolulu airport, according to CNN - although, when asked about "any other condition on board which may lead to the spread of disease," the response was a disquieting "to be determined." NASA wasn't sure what kind of "moon kooties" the astronauts would have come back home with, so the crew was quarantined for three weeks. A NASA history of the mission stated the experience "quickly became oppressive," according to CNN.
#TBT before the #Apollo11 crew went into quarantine we had to get into BIG suits - Biological Isolation Garments cont pic.twitter.com/fgQIVe2kpB — Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 30, 2015
The astronauts were kept entertained with an exercise room, a ping pong table, television, reading material and phone calls to their families. The trio wore "biological isolation garments" to ensure "the lunar dust we brought back wouldn't give people on earth our moon germs," Aldrin Tweeted. "I always found it funny that the rags used to wipe us down that were covered with moon dust were dropped in the ocean," he Tweeted. "So the poor underwater creatures got our moon germs instead." Then, the creator of "Get Your Ass To Mars" t-shirts struck Hollywood gold: the experience could be used as "fodder for a Godzilla movie." "I claim the movie rights! (A fan said call it Buzzilla!)" Aldrin Tweeted.
Cont...#Apollo11 moon dust in the ocean. Maybe this is fodder for a Godzilla movie. I claim the movie rights! (A fan said call it Buzzilla!) — Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) July 30, 2015
The Apollo 11 lunar mission recently celebrated its 46th anniversary on June 20. To read more about that historical moment, CLICK HERE.
