Armstrong, Neil

Full Name: Neil Armstrong

Nationality: American | Activity: American astronaut

Born: 05-08-1930

Born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on Aug. 5, 1930, Neil Alden Armstrong knew early in life that he wanted an aviation career. On his 16th birthday he became a licensed pilot; a year later, in 1947, he was a naval air cadet. After studying aeronautical engineering and serving in the Korean War, in 1955 he became a civilian research pilot for the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, later known as the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Armstrong joined NASA's space program in 1962. On March 16, 1966, as command pilot of the Gemini 8 spacecraft, he and David R. Scott docked with an unmanned Agena rocket, thus completing the first manual space-docking maneuver.

On July 16, 1969, Armstrong, along with Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins, blasted off on the Apollo 11 mission to land men on the moon. On July 20, the “Eagle” lunar landing module, with Armstrong and Aldrin aboard, separated from the command module and, guided manually by Armstrong, touched down. During their 21 hours and 37 minutes on the moon, they collected soil and rock samples, took photographs, and deployed scientific instruments, while millions watched on television. The voyage back to Earth began on July 21, and the trio splashed down in the Pacific on July 24.

Armstrong resigned from NASA in 1971 to become professor of aeronautical engineering at the University of Cincinnati, Ohio. (See also moon; space exploration.)

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Source: Encyclopedia Britannica