Abstract
Neil A. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in Ohio, on August 5, 1930, to Stephen and Viola Armstrong. After serving as a naval aviator from 1949 to 1952, Armstrong joined the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1955.
For the next 17 years, he was an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator for NACA and its successor agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, commonly known as NASA. Armstrong transferred to astronaut status in 1962. In 1968, Armstrong was offered the post of spacecraft commander for Apollo 11, which was to be the first manned lunar landing mission.
As commander of the mission, this gave Neil Armstrong the distinction of being the first man to land a craft on the moon and first to step on its surface. Armstrong was the recipient of many special honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom; the Congressional Gold Medal; the Congressional Space Medal of Honour and the NASA Distinguished Service Medal.
Neil Armstrong passed away on August 25th, 2012, following complications resulting from cardiovascular surgery. He was buried at sea. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden praised Armstrong’s courage, grace and humility, issuing a public statement which concluded that, “As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own".
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