Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong was born on 5 August 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. He developed an interest in flight as a child and began taking flying lessons before obtaining his driver's license. He studied aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, interrupting his studies to serve as a naval aviator during the Korean War. He flew seventy-eight combat missions and received several air medals before returning to complete his degree at Purdue in 1955.

After graduating, Armstrong worked as a test pilot at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics High-Speed Flight Station at Edwards Air Force Base in California, which later became part of NASA. He flew numerous experimental aircraft there, including the X-15 rocket plane, reaching altitudes above 200,000 feet on some flights. In 1962, Armstrong was selected as part of NASA's second group of astronauts.

His first spaceflight was as command pilot of Gemini 8 in March 1966, during which he and pilot David Scott performed the first successful docking of two spacecraft in orbit. The mission was cut short after a thruster malfunction caused the docked vehicles to spin uncontrollably; Armstrong regained control of the capsule and executed an emergency splashdown.

Armstrong was named commander of Apollo 11 in January 1969. The mission launched on 16 July 1969. On 20 July 1969, Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle in the Sea of Tranquility while command module pilot Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit. At approximately 02:56 UTC on 21 July 1969, Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface, becoming the first human to do so. He and Aldrin spent approximately two and a half hours on the surface, collecting samples and deploying instruments before returning to the module.

After the mission, Armstrong served as deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA headquarters before leaving the agency in 1971. He subsequently taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979 and served on the boards of several companies. He rarely gave public interviews. Neil Armstrong died on 25 August 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio, following complications from heart surgery.