The forgotten astronaut of 1969 moon landing shares bizarre way they were treated upon returning to Earth

Be honest; if you think of the 1969 moon landing, what are the first names that spring to mind?

If it's anyone other than Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, you're either guessing, or you just happen to be very clued up on the moon landing.

I have to admit, I couldn't name all of the astronauts involved in the Apollo 11 mission, but that definitely doesn't diminish their achievements in any way.

Armstrong made history with his 'one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' by stepping foot on the lunar surface, and he was followed closely by Aldrin, who helped him erect the American flag on the moon.

But they weren't alone up there - there was a third astronaut on board the lunar command module, who helped Armstrong and Aldrin take those infamous steps.

That astronaut was Michael Collins, who successfully piloted the spacecraft and got his crew safely back to Earth.

Collins passed away in 2021 at the grand age of 90, but he opened up about his experience on the moon in an interview with 60 Minutes Australia in 2019.

Michael Collins helped return the crew to Earth. ( Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Did I have the best seat on Apollo 11? No," he said.

However, he continued: "Was I happy with the seat I did have? Yes – I really was, and to be any small part of that suited me very, very well.

"And, besides, I was their ticket home – they couldn't get home without me."

As his crew mates collected rocks on the surface, Collins orbited on the far side of the moon in complete darkness.

He recalled the 'terrible' food on the mission, and said that while it was 'not a very comfortable place', he did enjoy his time there.

That being said, Collins insisted the moon was 'nothing compared to our home planet'.

Aldrin, Armstrong and Collins worked together on Apollo 11. (NASA/Newsmakers)

Unfortunately, the astronauts weren't immediately thrown back into home comforts upon their return to Earth.

Collins explained: "We were put into quarantine for two weeks. Some of our scientists were worried about the pathogens that we might have brought back from the moon, they possibly would be dangerous to humankind.

"So, their solution to that was to put us inside a hermetically sealed container with a gigantic colony of white mice – [if] the white mice lived we were okay, [if the] white mice died we were in deep trouble.

"Of course, I was checking on them... there were too many of them to give names to but they became my friends."

Thankfully the mice lived to tell the tale and, clearly, so did the astronauts!