He spent his final years with his second wife, Carol, in Indian Hill, Ohio. He died at age 82 on August 25, , several weeks after undergoing heart surgery.
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On July 20, , American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he took his first step, Armstrong It was a feat for the ages. Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. The son of a U.
Air Force colonel, Aldrin became a top student at the U. Military Academy at West Point before a decorated stint as a fighter pilot American astronaut Michael Collins was part of the historic Apollo 11 mission, remaining in the command module as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the moon. Since he stayed behind to pilot the command module as Aldrin and Armstrong made On July 20, , just eight years after President John F.
Following the Apollo 11 historic July 20, , moonwalk, Aldrin and Neil Apollo 13 was the seventh manned mission in the Apollo Space program and was supposed to be the third lunar landing mission, but the three astronauts aboard never reached the moon. Instead the crew and ground control team scrambled through a hair-raising George Armstrong Custer was a U. Check here if you would like to receive subscription offers and other promotions via email from TIME group companies.
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Already a print subscriber? Along with Michael Collins and Edwin E. The trio was launched into space on July 16, Serving as the mission's commander, Armstrong piloted the Lunar Module to the moon's surface on July 20, , with Aldrin aboard. Collins remained on the Command Module. At p. He said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," as he made his famous first step on the moon.
For about two and a half hours, Armstrong and Aldrin collected samples and conducted experiments. They also took photographs, including their own footprints. Neil Armstrong inside the Lunar Module on July 20, The crew and the craft were picked up by the U.
Hornet , and the three astronauts were put into quarantine for three weeks. Before long, the three Apollo 11 astronauts were given a warm welcome home.
Crowds lined the streets of New York City to cheer on the famous heroes who were honored in a ticker-tape parade. Armstrong received numerous awards for his efforts, including the Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor. Armstrong remained with NASA, serving as deputy associate administrator for aeronautics until Armstrong remained at the university for eight years.
Staying active in his field, he served as the chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation, Inc. Helping out at a difficult time, Armstrong served as vice chairman of the Presidential Commission on the space shuttle Challenger accident in The commission investigated the explosion of the Challenger on January 28, , which took the lives of its crew, including schoolteacher Christa McAuliffe.
Despite being one of the most famous astronauts in history, Armstrong largely shied away from the public eye. In a rare interview for the news program 60 Minutes in , he described the moon to interviewer Ed Bradley: "It's a brilliant surface in that sunlight.
Collins was originally supposed to be backup pilot for Apollo 11, but his spot in the flight sequence was moved after required surgery on his back forced him off the prime crew for Apollo 8. As the lander approached the moon, Armstrong took over the controls when he saw that the computer was guiding them to a boulder-filled landing zone.
At p. Armstrong radioed, "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot. The schedule called for the astronauts to sleep before the first moonwalk, but they elected to go outside early because they felt they would not be able to sleep. In view of a black-and-white television camera transmitting his movements live to Earth, Armstrong descended Eagle's lander and touched his left foot upon the surface at p.
His first words were "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. Armstrong and Aldrin together explored the surface during a moonwalk that lasted 2 hours and 36 minutes.
They collected The Eagle's crew lifted off safely from the moon on July 21, docked with Columbia, and voyaged back to Earth for a successful ocean landing on July The astronauts went into quarantine to mitigate the unlikely risk that they were carrying some sort of moon germs back with them, and then embarked on a world tour to celebrate the mission.
After his time as an astronaut, Armstrong was deputy associate administrator for aeronautics at NASA headquarters. He resigned from NASA in From to , he was a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati. Armstrong also participated in the Rogers Commission, which was a presidential commission tasked to look at the causes and events of the fatal Challenger shuttle explosion of Jan.
Armstrong chose to mostly stay out of the spotlight after leaving NASA, although he did reappear periodically for interviews or for anniversary events concerning Apollo
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