Yes, Even Astronauts Fill Out Customs Forms

Those U.S. customs forms you fill out after crossing into American airspace from overseas might feel like a laborious procedure, but you should take solace in knowing that even people traveling to outer space need to declare their items. On Sunday, Buzz Aldrin posted this awesome customs form filled out by the Apollo 11 crew upon returning from their historic landing on the moon. Really, space is the farthest international flight you could really take, and this piece of NASA history shows that, hey, astronauts are just like us.

In the Facebook post, Aldrin said he decided to share a copy of the exact customs paperwork filled by the Apollo 11 crew in 1969 since people often asked him whether astronauts were subject to the same rules as overseas flyers. The crew, which also included Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, declared moon rock and moon dust samples as part of their haul. Their point of departure was appropriately listed as "moon." And when it came to reporting "any other condition on board which may lead to spread of disease," the astronauts wrote "to be determined," since the effects of traveling to the moon (aka "moon disease") weren't known at the time.

Given that commercialized space travel could be coming in the near future for the rest of us mere mortals, the idea that there will be some familiar laws and levels of government bureaucracy is, oddly enough, kind of comforting. But more likely than not, you'll soon see planetary paperwork fittingly labeled "Earth."