On a summer night in 1969, billions of people watched their TVs as a man in a white spacesuit climbed down a ladder and stepped onto the Moon. That man was Neil Armstrong, and his footprints are still up there today!
Quick facts
- Born
- 5 August 1930, Ohio, USA
- Died
- 25 August 2012
- Famous for
- First person to walk on the Moon (1969)
- Spaceship
- Apollo 11
🖼️ Photo coming soon
A boy who loved planes
Neil loved airplanes so much that he earned his pilot's license before he could even drive a car! He became a test pilot, flying fast, tricky aircraft, before training to become an astronaut.
The trip to the Moon
In 1969, Neil and two crewmates blasted off on Apollo 11. After traveling about 240,000 miles, their little lander touched down gently on the Moon's dusty surface.
One giant leap
As Neil stepped onto the Moon, he said the famous words: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He and Buzz Aldrin hopped around in the low gravity and collected Moon rocks to bring home.
"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." — Neil Armstrong
Why we remember him
Neil showed that dreams really can reach the stars. The science that carried him to the Moon began with thinkers like Albert Einstein, whose ideas help us understand gravity and space.