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Posted: 2015-08-13T17:56:30Z | Updated: 2015-08-13T17:56:30Z Buzz Aldrin Shares 'Customs Form' From Moon Visit Like It's NBD | HuffPost

Buzz Aldrin Shares 'Customs Form' From Moon Visit Like It's NBD

Moon rock and moon dust samples are listed under "cargo."

Astronauts are just like us! ... Sorta. 

Buzz Aldrin shared a hilarious photo on Twitter earlier this month of what *appears* to be a signed U.S. customs form from 1969, after his trip to the moon on the Apollo 11 mission. 

The epic picture went viral with more than 3,100 retweets on Twitter , probably because casually bringing back "moon rock and moon dust samples" as cargo seems so badass. 

On the form, "moon" is even listed under "place" -- as if traveling to Cape Kennedy and Honolulu, Hawaii, are in the same league.  The customs form isn't the only document that will make you giggle. Aldrin also recently shared what appears to be a travel voucher, showing that he was reimbursed a grand total of  $33.31  for the trip. 

While the documents will give you a good laugh, don't take them too seriously. According to an article by NASA historians Steve Garber and Jennifer Ross-Nazzal and Customs and Border Protection Chief Historian David McKinney published last year, the customs form, which is an old legend, isn't a legitimate document. 

"We have concluded that the Apollo 11 document was completed afterward and is not an official, executed customs general declaration," the article explains. It notes that the historians believe the crew's signatures were likely autopenned or photocopied onto the form. 

"The form exists, but is likely figurative," Tabatha Thompson of NASA told the Huffington Post in an email. She added while a historian involved in the article couldn't comment on the validity of the travel voucher, it's likely in the same boat as the customs form -- figurative as well. 

Good one, Buzz. You almost got us there! 

 

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