Apollo 11 splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969, completing humanity’s first crewed lunar landing mission.
After leaving lunar orbit, astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins traveled back to Earth inside the command module Columbia. The spacecraft reentered Earth’s atmosphere protected by its heat shield, then descended beneath parachutes into the Pacific Ocean.
The splashdown occurred about 1,500 kilometers southwest of Hawaii. Recovery forces, including the aircraft carrier USS Hornet, quickly reached the astronauts and lifted them from the command module. They entered quarantine soon afterward because NASA wanted to guard against any possible lunar contamination.
July 20 is often confused with the splashdown date because it was the day Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the Moon. Apollo 11 actually spent several more days completing lunar operations, leaving lunar orbit, and returning safely to Earth.