On July 20, 1969, American astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first human being to walk on the moon. As commander of the Apollo 11 spacecraft, Armstrong and his fellow astronauts, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, made history by completing the first manned lunar landing mission. Armstrong’s “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” phrase is among the most quoted in history.
In addition to his place in the annals of space exploration, Armstrong was also an accomplished pilot. He flew 78 combat missions during the Korean War and later served as a test pilot for a variety of aircraft.
Table of Contents:
1. Early Life
2. Aviation Career
3. NASA Career
4. Later Life and Legacy
5. Top Neil Armstrong Quotes
Early Life
Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930, near Wapakoneta, Ohio. The first of three children born to Stephen and Viola Engel Armstrong, he soon developed a passion for flight. He took his first airplane ride at the age of 6 and received his pilot’s license on his 16th birthday.
Armstrong’s father, a self-educated man, ran a local newspaper and served as county judge. The family lived on a farm, and Armstrong worked there as a boy, helping with the harvest and tending to the livestock.
He was an average student in high school but excelled in mathematics and science. After graduating in 1947, he enrolled at Purdue University, where he studied engineering on a U.S. Navy scholarship.
Aviation Career
Armstrong’s college career was interrupted in 1949 when he was called to serve in the Korean War. He became a fighter pilot and flew 78 combat missions. After the war, he returned to Purdue and earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955.
That same year, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the predecessor of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). He was assigned to the Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, where he worked on power systems for aircraft. He also attended the University of Southern California, earning a master’s degree in aerospace engineering in 1970.
In 1955, Armstrong married Janet Shearon, a local girl he had dated in high school. The couple had three children: Eric, Karen and Mark. Karen died of cancer in 1962 at the age of 2.
In 1957, Armstrong was selected to participate in the U.S. Air Force’s Man in Space Soonest program. He completed the program’s rigorous training, which included high-altitude flights and centrifuge training, but was not selected to be the first American in space.
In 1959, Armstrong transferred to the NACA’s High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base in California. There he worked as a research pilot, flying a variety of experimental aircraft. He also became a civilian test pilot for North American Aviation, flying the company’s new X-15 rocket plane. In all, Armstrong made seven flights in the X-15, which at the time was the fastest and highest-flying aircraft in the world.
On one of his X-15 flights, in 1962, Armstrong nearly lost his life when the aircraft went out of control and he had to eject. The plane crashed in the Mojave Desert, and Armstrong suffered a broken ribs and a concussion.
NASA Career
Armstrong was one of nine pilots selected for NASA’s astronaut program in April 1959. He made his first space flight in 1966, as command pilot of the Gemini 8 mission.
The Gemini 8 mission was aborted after only about 11 hours when an electrical short caused the spacecraft to spin out of control. Armstrong and his fellow astronaut, David Scott, were able to regain control of the craft, but not before it had made more than 40 complete revolutions. The experience left both men nauseated and disoriented, but they were successfully able to land the spacecraft.
Armstrong’s second space flight was as commander of Apollo 11, the first manned lunar landing mission. On July 20, 1969, he and Aldrin became the first men on the moon. As millions of people around the world watched and listened, Armstrong stepped out of the lunar module, Eagle, and onto the moon’s surface. His famous phrase, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” was heard by television viewers worldwide.
Later Life and Legacy
Armstrong returned to space one final time in 1971, commanding the Apollo 14 mission. He left NASA in 1971 to become a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati. He later served as chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc., and as a spokesman for several businesses.
In 1986, the U.S. Postal Service issued a commemorative stamp honoring Armstrong. In 1999, he was ranked 38th on the Gallup Poll’s List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century. He was also the recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor.
Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82.
Top Neil Armstrong Quotes
Start at the end and work back. — Neil Armstrong
I can honestly say – and it’s a big surprise to me – that I have never had a dream about being on the moon. — Neil Armstrong
I think if there was anything I learned from our skipper was that it’s not how you look; it’s how you perform. — Neil Armstrong
Mystery creates wonder and wonder is the basis of man’s desire to understand. — Neil Armstrong
I am, and ever will be, a white-socks, pocket-protector, nerdy engineer – born under the second law of thermodynamics, steeped in steam tables, in love with free-body diagrams, transformed by Laplace, and propelled by compressible flow. — Neil Armstrong
In flying, the probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. — Neil Armstrong
I hope you become comfortable with the use of logic without being deceived into concluding that logic will inevitably lead you to the correct conclusion. — Neil Armstrong
Ever since I was a little boy, I dreamed I would do something important in aviation. — Neil Armstrong
Good luck, Mr. Gorsky! — Neil Armstrong
What are not easily stolen from you without your cooperation are your principles and your values. They are your most important possessions and, if carefully selected and nurtured, will well serve you and your fellow man. — Neil Armstrong
I believe that the Good Lord gave us a finite number of heartbeats and I’m damned if I’m going to use up mine running up and down a street. — Neil Armstrong
It’s a great thing for a man to walk on the moon. But it’s a greater thing for God to walk on the earth. — Neil Armstrong
There are places to go beyond belief. — Neil Armstrong
People love conspiracy theories. — Neil Armstrong
The regret on our side is, they used to say years ago, we are reading about you in science class. Now they say, we are reading about you in history class. — Neil Armstrong
Well, I think we tried very hard not to be overconfident because when you get overconfident, that’s when something snaps up and bites you. — Neil Armstrong
Man must understand his universe in order to understand his destiny. — Neil Armstrong
It suddenly struck me that that tiny pea, pretty and blue, was the Earth. I put up my thumb and shut one eye, and my thumb blotted out the planet Earth. I didn’t feel like a giant. I felt very, very small. — Neil Armstrong
Here men from the planet Earth first set foot upon the Moon. July 1969 AD. We came in peace for all mankind. — Neil Armstrong
I think we’re going to the moon because it’s in the nature of the human being to face challenges. It’s by the nature of his deep inner soul… we’re required to do these things just as salmon swim upstream. — Neil Armstrong
You’ve got to expect things are going to go wrong. And we always need to prepare ourselves for handling the unexpected. — Neil Armstrong
For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink. — Neil Armstrong
As I stepped on the moon, I looked around, dazed…magnifice nt. The vast, sandy silver surface was almost illusory. — Neil Armstrong
If you don’t know who you are, a university is an expensive place to find out. — Neil Armstrong
We would like to give special thanks to all those Americans who built the spacecraft; who did the construction, design, the tests, and put their hearts and all their abilities into those craft. To those people tonight, we give a special thank you, and to all the other people that are listening and watching tonight, God bless you. Good night from Apollo 11. — Neil Armstrong
This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. — Neil Armstrong
A picture does a great job, but it’s not nearly like being there. — Neil Armstrong
Fear is not an unknown emotion to us.— Neil Armstrong
We have no proof, But if we extrapolate, based on the best information we have available to us, we have to come to the conclusion that … other life probably exists out there and perhaps in many places. — Neil Armstrong
The single thing which makes any man happiest is the realization that he has worked up to the limits of his ability, his capacity. It’s all the better, of course, if this work has made a contribution to knowledge, or toward moving the human race a little farther forward. — Neil Armstrong
Through books you will meet poets and novelists whose creations will fire your imagination. You will meet the great thinkers who will share with you their philosophies, their concepts of the world, of humanity and of creation. You will learn about events that have shaped our history, of deeds both noble and ignoble. All of this knowledge is yours for the taking… Your library is a storehouse for mind and spirit. Use it well. — Neil Armstrong
It never hurts to have friends around, so that’s why you’d form a crew.— Neil Armstrong
History will remember the twentieth century for two technological developments: atomic energy and space flight. — Neil Armstrong
I was elated, ecstatic, and extremely surprised that we were successful. — Neil Armstrong
The important achievement of Apollo was demonstrating that humanity is not forever chained to this planet, and our visions go rather further than that, and our opportunities are unlimited. — Neil Armstrong
Houston, Tranquillity Base here. The Eagle has landed. — Neil Armstrong
The exciting part for me, as a pilot, was the landing on the moon. That was the time that we had achieved the national goal of putting Americans on the moon. The landing approach was, by far, the most difficult and challenging part of the flight. Walking on the lunar surface was very interesting, but it was something we looked on as reasonably safe and predictable. So the feeling of elation accompanied the landing rather than the walking. — Neil Armstrong
Shoot for the stars but if you happen to miss shoot for the moon instead. — Neil Armstrong
I guess we all like to be recognized not for one piece of fireworks but for the ledger of our daily work. — Neil Armstrong
Damn, I really did it. I blew the first words on the moon, didn’t I? — Neil Armstrong
Pilots take no special joy in walking: pilots like flying. — Neil Armstrong
I believe that the message of Apollo XI was that in the spirit of Apollo, a free and open spirit, you can attack a very difficult goal and achieve it, if you can all agree and work together to achieve that goal. — Neil Armstrong
Research is creating new knowledge. — Neil Armstrong
Opportunities will be available to you that you cannot imagine. — Neil Armstrong
The single observation I would offer for your consideration is that some things are beyond your control. You can lose your health to illness or accident. You can lose your wealth to all manner of unpredictable sources. — Neil Armstrong
Sources Wikipedia Britannica Nasa History Space Astronomy Natgeokids Airandspace Whoi Purdue