— Long before millions of people from around the globe isolated themselves to protect against a pandemic, three astronauts spent 21 days secluded from the rest of the world after being exposed to the moon.

"Apollo 11: Quarantine," a new short film from the team behind the feature-length documentary "Apollo 11," tells the lesser-known story that followed the historic first moon landing. Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins entered quarantine to protect the rest of humanity from any possible "moon germs" and to preserve the moon rocks they returned with them from being contaminated by life on Earth.

"I am honored to be working again with so many talented filmmakers and the innovative teams at NEON, CNN Films and IMAX," Todd Douglas Miller, "Apollo 11" and "Apollo 11: Quarantine" director and producer, said in statement released by NEON on Thursday (Jan. 14). "And [I am] very excited for audiences to experience a little-known part of history — an enduring message of hope during these unprecedented times."

Like "Apollo 11," "Apollo 11: Quarantine" features never-before-seen 70mm large-format footage that was discovered among the holdings of the National Archives. The new 23-minute film also forgoes a narrator or modern interviews to allow the NASA archival audio and footage to create an immersive experience, bringing the viewer back into the events of the summer of 1969 and inside quarantine with the astronauts.

Co-presented by NEON and CNN Films, "Apollo 11: Quarantine" will be released exclusively in IMAX theaters beginning Jan. 29 in select locations. The film will then be available to stream via premium on-demand services beginning Feb. 5.

Miller produced "Apollo 11: Quarantine" along with Laura Kirby-Miller, Thomas Baxley Petersen and Evan Krauss. Executive producers were Amy Entelis and Courtney Sexton for CNN Films, Josh Braun for Submarine and Tom Quinn for NEON.