Neil Armstrong (1930-2012)

Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who, in 1969, became the first person to walk on the Moon as commander of the Apollo 11 mission. Here are some key facts about Neil Armstrong:

• He was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in 1930 and became a naval aviator and test pilot.
• Armstrong joined the NASA space program in 1962 and first flew in space as command pilot of Gemini 8 in 1966, where he performed the first docking of two spacecraft in orbit.
• On July 20, 1969, as commander of the Apollo 11 mission, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to land on the Moon, fulfilling President John F. Kennedy's goal of landing a man on the lunar surface before the end of the 1960s.
• Upon landing on the Moon, Armstrong uttered the famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as he became the first person to set foot on the lunar surface.
• After retiring from NASA in 1971, Armstrong taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979.
• He remained relatively private later in life but was seen as a national hero and icon for his pivotal role in the Apollo 11 mission as the first person to walk on the Moon.