The First Moon Walker

Occupation: Astronaut Born: August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio Died: August 25, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio Best known for: First man to walk on the Moon

An American astronaut climbed down the ladder of his lunar landing module, the Eagle, and became the first human to touch the moons surface. As he steadied himself, he said: Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. Around the globe, an estimated 530 million people watched on their televisions as Neil Armstrong uttered those now-famous words. On August 25, this American hero died at age 82.

Preparing for a life of exploration In college, he trained as an aeronautical and aerospace engineer. In this field, people learn how to design and control not only aircraft but also jets and other propulsion systems. But before he could finish college, Armstrong was called up for military service. He signed on to become a Navy fighter pilot. He flew 78 combat missions in Korea. During one, his plane was hit and he had to parachute out. It was an event that could have killed him. But it didnt frighten him off of flying. Instead, he went back to school and finished his studies. Then he joined a federal agency that would become the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, or NASA. In 1962 Armstrong joined NASAs astronaut corps. Suddenly, his focus became rocketry and space exploration. Within four years, he was given the command of the Gemini 8 spacecraft. As a result of this, he controlled the first successful docking, or linkup, of two vehicles in space. Apollo 11 But the highlight of his career was Apollo 11, that famous mission to the moon. Almost 1 in 5 people alive at the time, shared in the excitement. They watched as blurry television images showed Armstrong descending to the lunar surface. They also left mementos for future space travelers. These included a patch carrying the names of Virgil Grissom, Edward White and Roger Chaffee Apollo 1 crew members who died in a launchpad fire. Armstrong and Aldrin also left medals inscribed with the names of Vladimir Komarov and Yuri Gagarin, two Russian astronauts (called cosmonauts) who died during space flights in 1967 and 1968. Finally, they left a small silicon disc that carried a miniature goodwill message from 73 world leaders (its message is so small that you would need a microscope to see the words).