Neil Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the moon. From as young as the age of two, Neil showed an interest in flying, so much so that at 15 he earned his flight certificate long before earning his driver’s license. It can be said that in his lifetime Neil was a very accomplished man; becoming an United States Navy Office, serving in the Korean War and then becoming a test pilot for the National Advisory Committee, to name a few and eventually becoming an astronaut.

He became one of the first US civilians in space on his 1966 Gemini 8 mission with NASA, for which he was the command pilot. Despite the mission being cut short after malfunctions occurred, Armstrong and crew made the first ever docking between two crafts in space a success.

His second and last, and most famous spaceflight was the Apollo 11 moon landing in July 1969. On this mission, alongside Buzz Aldren, Armstong spent two and a half hours exploring the moon’s surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit. After this mission, alongside Aldren and Collins, he received the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Congressional Space Medal of Honour and the Congressional Gold Medal of Honour.

Life after the very successful Apollo landing became just as successful for Armstrong, who became the Deputy Associate Administrator for aeronautics for the Office of Advanced Research and Technology, Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and served there for a year. Leaving this position, Armstrong went on to teach in the Department of Aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati and resigned after eight years.

Just two days ago, August 25, Neil Armstrong died in Cincinnati, Ohio aged 82 due to complication from blocked coronary arteries. President Obama released a statement describing him as “among the greatest American heroes – not just of this time, but of all time.”

One small dent in earth’s population, one giant legacy in space history.