Apollo 11 Had Travel Vouchers

Returning from another world didn't exempt the Apollo 11 crew from earthly bureaucracy. After splashing down in the Pacific Ocean and being recovered by the USS Hornet, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins were immediately placed into a Mobile Quarantine Facility. It was inside this trailer that they were presented with a standard U.S. Customs form. On it, they formally declared their "cargo" of moon rocks and dust samples. The form, a humorous piece of history, lists their departure point as "The Moon" and notes the flight's routing as "Cape Kennedy, Moon, Honolulu." It also required them to declare any conditions on board that could lead to the spread of disease, which was, of course, the very reason for their 21-day quarantine.

The paperwork didn't end there. In a perfect example of government procedure meeting the sublime, Buzz Aldrin submitted a travel voucher for his round trip to the lunar surface. The claim, totaling a modest $33.31, didn't cover the cost of rocket fuel, but rather the more mundane travel required on Earth. It meticulously detailed his use of a "Gov. space craft" but only requested reimbursement for using his personal car to travel between his home and the launch site, as well as for ground transport upon his return. This document serves as a charming reminder that even the most audacious journey in human history was still subject to the same procedural paperwork as any other government business trip.