As far as government paperwork goes, this might just be the best ever filed.

According to the federal government, employees embarking on government-sponsored missions for which there are billable expenses must fill out expense reports and submit them, including if their government-sponsored mission was to the moon.

Yesterday, former NASA astronaut and noted moon missioner Buzz Aldrin shared the paperwork he filed with NASA in order to get $33.31 worth of fuel expenses back – expenses he accrued driving from Houston to Cape Kennedy, Fla., where he boarded the Apollo spacecraft.

The paper, which is beyond cool and more than a little surreal, lists the mission as a “round trip” for Col. Edwin A. “Buzz” Aldrin, going from Houston to Cape Kennedy to the moon to Cape Kennedy and back to Houston.

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Note that Aldrin was not reimbursed for his expenses from Cape Kennedy to the moon and back. He used a “government spacecraft” for that, and his meals and fuel were NASA provided, of course. That’s good, since, as one commenter on Gizmodo pointed out, at the standard reimbursement rate of $.10 per mile listed, the 472,000 mile journey would have cost the government (and, first, Aldrin) about $48,000, more than twice Aldrin’s yearly salary at the time. There’s no indication as to whether he would have earned a per diem rate (but probably not).

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