Early Life
Armstrong earned his pilot's license before his driver's license, served as a U.S. Navy aviator in the Korean War, and later worked as a test pilot.
Career
Selected for NASA's astronaut corps in 1962, he commanded Gemini 8 in 1966 and the Apollo 11 mission, landing the lunar module Eagle with Buzz Aldrin at the Sea of Tranquility. His first words on stepping onto the surface became among the most famous in history.
Legacy
Armstrong received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969 and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, taught aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati, and shunned publicity. He died in 2012 at age 82.
Sources and further reading
Last updated: 2026-09-24