Apollo 11 People

Neil
Armstrong

The first human to walk on the Moon
“One giant leap for mankind”
All images, footage and audio © Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum and NASA

As the commander of the first crewed mission to land on the Moon, Neil Armstrong became the first human to walk on its surface in July 1969

This browser does not support the video element.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind"

Armstrong had previously flown on Gemini VIII in 1965. On that mission, he became the first American civilian in space and the first person to dock two vehicles in space successfully.

Astronaut Frank Borman described Armstrong as a quiet, perceptive, thoroughly decent man

Armstrong left NASA in 1971 to become a professor, dedicating his life to education

Armstrong enjoyed a lifelong passion for aerospace engineering

Which started at Purdue University with a Navy scholarship, before he served as a fighter pilot in the Korean War

After the war, Armstrong left the Navy and completed his aeronautical engineering degree, at which point he became a test pilot for NASA, putting him on the path to Apollo 11

Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, from complications following bypass surgery. Two years later, NASA named one of its flight research centers in his honor.

Armstrong’s name has gone down in history on Earth, and humankind’s first-ever lunar footprint — with no wind to blow it away — should remain on the Moon for millions of years to come