'Forgotten astronaut' of 1969 moon landing shared peculiar way they were treated after returning to Earth

Everyone knows the iconic clip of Neil Armstrong stepping foot on the moon, making history as the first man to do so.

“That’s one small step for me, one giant leap for mankind,” Armstrong said as he stepped out onto the lunar surface for the first time.

Edwin E ‘Buzz’ Aldrin was the second man to step out onto the moon, with the pair erecting an American flag.

Michael Collins was the third astronaut on the moon mission in 1969 (Bettmann/Getty Images)

It was a pivotal moment in history that was witnessed by millions and Armstrong and Aldrin became household names, but did you know there was a third astronaut aboard the lunar command module?

Michael Collins piloted the spacecraft to get his crew back safely from the moon and home to Earth.

He had first trained up as a fighter pilot and had always dreamed of one day seeing the stars.

Two years prior to his death in 2021, Collins spoke to 60 Minutes Australia.

He said: "Did I have the best seat on Apollo 11? No. 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."

Unlike his fellow crew, Collins did not get to step foot on the moon during their mission.

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

The three crew members of NASA's Apollo 11 lunar landing mission were Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin Jr. (Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

"The food was terrible, but I enjoyed my time behind the moon, it's a more rugged place and not a very comfortable place," he added.

On their return home, Collins admitted the way he and his crew were treated was slightly bizarre.

He said: "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 did survive and the astronauts were soon able to be reunited with their families and loved ones.