Aldrin reimbursed $33.31 by American  govt for Apollo 11 Moon mission

Not a joke, but surprisingly, that 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' – the Apollo 11 Moon landing mission comes with a relatively small price.

Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin has revealed that the US government reimbursed him $33.31 for his historic moon landing mission in 1969.

Aldrin - the second man to step foot on the lunar surface, after Neil Armstrong, tweeted pictures of original travel expenses and customs from his 1969 moon mission.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, $33.31 in 1969 would be worth around $217 today taking into account inflation.

The documents, which Aldrin posted on his Twitter account recently, state that “government meals and quarters” were provided throughout the July 1969 mission. And he happily didn't have to pay out of pocket for the rocket fuel that took Apollo 11 into space, reports the CNN.

Aldrin also said that he was not responsible for paying for actual transportation from Earth to the moon or even to Cape Kennedy, Florida, where Apollo 11 launched, as he had a government plane for that.

Upon returning, Aldrin and other Apollo crew members, Armstrong and Michael Collins had to sign customs declaration forms – the items they were bringing back from the moon. The items were mainly moon rock and moon dust samples weigh about 50 pounds.

The astronauts were put into quarantine for three weeks after their return to the earth amid concerns over what germs they might have brought back with them from the moon.