Moon mission splashdownIn 1969, the Apollo XI astronauts, two of whom had been the first men to set foot on the moon, splashed down safely in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. EDT about 812 nautical miles southwest of Hawaii. The three astronauts. They transferred to a life raft and were met by a Navy frogman. All four men were wearing biological isolation garments. After helicopter pickup and transport to the U.S.S. Hornet, they stayed in quarantine for three weeks. The day before splashdown, Aldrin said, "We feel this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiousity of all mankind to explore the unknown." |
