On July 24, 1969, humans returned to planet Earth for the first time from the Moon. Of course, it was the crew of Apollo 11, the first space mission to land on the lunar surface. After 8 days and 3 hours spent on the mission, three astronauts (Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins) successfully landed in the Pacific Ocean after a turbulent passage through Earth’s atmosphere.
The exact place where they landed is in the Pacific Ocean, at 13 ° 19′N 169 ° 9′W. It is an area of the ocean about 1,000 kilometers southwest of Hawaii. There are no islands in that part of the ocean, and the nearest is Johnston Atoll, about 360 kilometers away.
Of course, the Americans made an effort to welcome the astronauts with dignity. About 24 kilometers from the landing site was a large American aircraft carrier USS Hornet, ready to receive astronauts. It is interesting that the then US President Richard Nixon (also the Supreme Commander of the US Armed Forces) was personally on the carrier. The Apollo 11 capsule floated in the water until Sea King helicopters, sent from the carrier, reached it.
The astronauts were brought by helicopter to the deck of the carrier and then immediately quarantined, where they had to spend 21 days (due to the potential danger of unknown pathogens from the lunar surface). President Nixon also came to the astronauts and greeted them through the glass.
