"NASA – President Richard Nixon Greets the Heroes of Apollo - Lot 70

"NASA – President Richard Nixon Greets the Heroes of Apollo 11 USS Hornet, July 24, 1969 A rare historical photograph taken aboard the USS Hornet, a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier tasked with recovering the Apollo 11 crew after their return from the Moon. Moments after being winched from their capsule, which had splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. “Buzz"" Aldrin Jr., and Michael Collins were placed in the Mobile Quarantine Facility (MQF), a mobile quarantine unit designed to prevent any biological risks associated with their stay on the Moon. Through one of the windows of this veritable “giant trailer,” the three astronauts watched as U.S. President Richard M. Nixon paid them an official visit to congratulate them on behalf of the nation. This scene, which has become one of the iconic images of the Apollo 11 return, symbolizes both the triumph of the first crewed lunar mission and the exceptional scientific precautions taken by NASA. The astronauts would remain in quarantine for 21 days, until any possibility of extraterrestrial contamination was definitively ruled out. Vintage silver gelatin print. NASA logo and typewritten caption on the back. Dimensions: 20.5 × 26.6 cm (with margins)."