Nixon and astronauts

Aboard the U.S.S. Hornet to greet the returning astronauts was President Richard Nixon. The Apollo 11 trio stayed in the Mobile Quarantine Facility until they reached the Manned Spacecraft Center's Lunar Receiving Laboratory in Houston. On July 20, Nixon had spoken with the astronauts in space: "Neil and Buzz, I am talking to you by telephone from the Oval Office at the White House, and this certainly has to be the most historic telephone call ever made."

July 16, 2009 4:00 AM PDT

Photo by: NASA

| Caption by: Jonathan E. Skillings