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Description: The USS Hornet recovered the Apollo 11 astronauts on 24 July 1969. In photos, the astronauts can be seen wearing "Hornet Plus Three" pins. President Nixon was on board to welcome the returning astronauts back to Earth, where they lived in quarantine aboard Hornet prior to transfer to the Lunar Receiving Laboratory at Houston. The first steps on Earth of returning moonwalkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, with Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, are marked on her hangar deck, as part of her Apollo program exhibit.
