281. [Apollo 11] THE TRIUMPHANT RETURN OF THE FIRST MOON EXPLORERS, WELCOMED BY PRESIDENT NIXON NASA, 24 July 1969 Printed 1969. Vintage chromogenic print on fibre-based Kodak paper. With "A Kodak Paper" watermark on the reverse (issued by NASA / US NAVY). 20.3 x 25.4 cm. (8 x 10 in.) Historical context Aglow with triumph, the smiling Apollo 11 astronauts—Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins—peer through the window of the Mobile Quarantine Facility aboard USS Hornet as they speak with President Nixon, marking the conclusion of humanity's first lunar landing mission. They wear the NASA insignia and the Apollo 11 emblem depicting an eagle bearing an olive branch, symbol of peace, to the Moon. During a TV broadcast on the way back from the Moon, Buzz Aldrin reflected: "This has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more still than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown." For Norman Mailer, who covered Apollo 11 for LIFE magazine, "Aldrin was a life given over to good physical condition, a form of grace... Armstrong was a high priest of the forces of society and scientific history... Collins was cool... The living spirit of good and graceful manners... The man everybody was glad to see at a party." (Mailer, p. 82)