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{{Short description|American astronaut (1930–2012)}}
{{Other uses}}
{{Featured article}}
{{pp-semi-indef}}
{{Use American English|date=August 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox astronaut
| name = Neil Armstrong
| image = Neil Armstrong pose.jpg
| alt = Armstrong posing in his spacesuit, with his helmet on the table in front of him. Behind him is a large photograph of the lunar surface.
| caption = Armstrong in 1969
| birth_name = Neil Alden Armstrong
| birth_date = {{birth date|1930|8|5}}
| birth_place = [[Washington Township, Auglaize County, Ohio|Washington Township, Ohio]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2012|8|25|1930|8|5}}
| death_place = [[Fairfield, Ohio]], U.S.
| spouse = {{plainlist|
* {{marriage|Janet Shearon|1956|1994|end=div}}
* {{marriage|Carol Knight|1994}}
}}
| children = 3
| education = [[Purdue University]] ([[Bachelor of Science|BS]])<br>[[University of Southern California]] ([[Master of Science|MS]])
| awards = {{ubl|item_style={{longitem}}
|[[Presidential Medal of Freedom]]
|[[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]]
|[[Congressional Gold Medal]]
|[[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]
|[[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]]
|[[Air Medal]] (3)}}
| type = [[Man in Space Soonest|USAF]] / [[NASA astronaut]]
| rank = [[Lieutenant (junior grade)|Lieutenant]], [[United States Navy|USN]]
| time = 8d 14h 12m
| selection = {{ubl|item_style={{longitem}}
|[[List of astronauts by year of selection#1958|USAF Man in Space Soonest (1958)]]
|[[List of astronauts by year of selection#1960|USAF Dyna-Soar (1960)]]
|[[NASA Astronaut Group 2|NASA Group 2 (1962)]]}}
| eva1 = 1
| eva2 = 2h 31m
| mission = {{flatlist|
*[[Gemini 8]]
*[[Apollo 11]]}}
| insignia = [[File:Gemini 8 patch.png|50px|alt=Gemini 8 logo]] [[File:Apollo 11 insignia.png|50px|alt=Apollo 11 logo]]
| signature = Neil Armstrong Signature.svg
}}

'''Neil Alden Armstrong''' (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American [[astronaut]] and [[aeronautical engineer]] who, as the commander of the 1969 [[Apollo 11]] mission, became the [[Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations|first person to walk on the Moon]]. He was also a [[Naval aviator (United States)|naval aviator]], [[test pilot]] and university professor.

Armstrong was born and raised near [[Wapakoneta, Ohio]]. He entered [[Purdue University]], studying [[aeronautical engineering]], with the [[United States Navy]] paying his tuition under the [[Holloway Plan]].  He became a [[midshipman]] in 1949 and a [[Naval aviator (United States)|naval aviator]] the following year. He saw action in the [[Korean War]], flying the [[Grumman F9F Panther]] from the [[aircraft carrier]] {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}}. After the war, he completed his bachelor's degree at Purdue and became a test pilot at the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA) [[Armstrong Flight Research Center|High-Speed Flight Station]] at [[Edwards Air Force Base]] in California. He was the project pilot on [[Century Series]] fighters and flew the [[North American X-15]] seven times. He was also a participant in the [[U.S. Air Force]]'s [[Man in Space Soonest]] and [[Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar|X-20 Dyna-Soar]] [[human spaceflight]] programs.

Armstrong joined the [[NASA Astronaut Corps]] in the [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|second group]], which was selected in 1962. He made his first [[spaceflight]] as command pilot of [[Gemini 8]] in March 1966, becoming [[NASA]]'s first civilian astronaut to fly in space. During this mission with pilot [[David Scott]], he performed the first [[Docking and berthing of spacecraft|docking]] of two [[spacecraft]]; the mission was aborted after Armstrong used some of his re-entry control fuel to stabilize a dangerous roll caused by a stuck thruster. During training for Armstrong's second and last spaceflight as commander of [[Apollo 11]], he had to eject from the [[Lunar Landing Research Vehicle]] moments before a crash.

On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Apollo 11 [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] (LM) pilot [[Buzz Aldrin]] became the first people to [[Moon landing|land on the Moon]], and the next day they spent two and a half hours outside the [[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] spacecraft while [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] remained in lunar orbit in the [[Command module Columbia|Apollo Command Module ''Columbia'']]. When Armstrong first stepped onto the lunar surface, he famously said: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 14, 2019 |title=Armstrong's famous 'one small step' quote — explained |url=https://whyy.org/articles/armstrongs-famous-one-small-step-quote-explained/ |access-date=July 13, 2023 |website=WHYY-FM}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=July 20, 2019 |title=July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=NASA}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Armstrong |first=Neil |date=July 16, 1999 |title=[Press conference with Neil Armstrong] |url=https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/pressconf.htm |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=NASA History Division}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Stamm |first=Amy |date=July 17, 2019 |title="One Small Step for Man" or "a Man"? |url=https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/one-small-step-man-or-man |access-date=August 13, 2023 |website=National Air and Space Museum}}</ref> It was broadcast live to an estimated 530 million viewers worldwide. Apollo 11 was a major U.S. victory in the [[Space Race]], by fulfilling a national goal proposed in 1961 by President [[John F. Kennedy]] "of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" before the end of the decade. Along with Collins and Aldrin, Armstrong was awarded the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] by President [[Richard Nixon]] and received the 1969 [[Collier Trophy]]. President [[Jimmy Carter]] presented him with the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] in 1978, he was inducted into the [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]] in 1979, and with his former crewmates received the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] in 2009.

After he resigned from NASA in 1971, Armstrong taught in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the [[University of Cincinnati]] until 1979. He served on the [[Apollo 13]] accident investigation and on the [[Rogers Commission Report|Rogers Commission]], which investigated the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]. In 2012, Armstrong died due to [[Complication (medicine)|complications]] resulting from [[coronary bypass surgery]], at the age of 82.
{{toc limit|4}}

== Early life and education ==
Armstrong was born in rural [[Washington Township, Auglaize County, Ohio|Washington Township]], in [[Auglaize County, Ohio]],<ref>{{cite web |author=Butler County Department of Health |title=English: This is a faithful digital scan of the official birth certificate of Neil Alden Armstrong, issued by the Butler County Department of Health on March 31, 2025. Certified by local county registrar, Kathy Ripley. |date=August 6, 1930 |url=https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Neil_Alden_Armstrong_-_Original_birth_certificate.jpg |access-date=April 15, 2025}}</ref> on August 5, 1930, the son of Viola Louise (née Engel) and Stephen Koenig Armstrong. He was of German, English, Scots-Irish, Irish, and Scottish descent.<ref>{{cite web | title=Distant Irish relatives mourn moonwalker Neil Armstrong | date=August 27, 2012 | url=https://www.irishcentral.com/news/distant-irish-relatives-mourn-moonwalker-neil-armstrong-167530445-237525201 }}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=13, 20}}<ref>{{cite news |first=Maureen |last=Coleman |title=A Giant Leap For An Ulsterman |date=August 28, 2012 |newspaper=[[The Belfast Telegraph]] |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/a-giant-leap-for-an-ulsterman-tributes-to-neil-armstrong-the-astronaut-who-was-first-to-walk-on-the-moon-28785887.html |access-date=November 14, 2018}}</ref> He is a descendant of [[Clan Armstrong]].<ref>{{Cite web |first=Ian |last=Harvey |date=April 15, 2019 |title=Neil Armstrong's Last Name Posed a Problem in his Ancestral Scottish Hometown |url=https://www.thevintagenews.com/2019/04/15/armstrong/ |access-date=September 4, 2022 |website=thevintagenews |language=en}}</ref> He had a younger sister, June, and a younger brother, Dean. His father was an [[auditor]] for the [[Government of Ohio|Ohio state government]],<ref>{{cite news |date=May 24, 2012 |title=Neil Armstrong grants rare interview to accountants organization |language=en-US |publisher=CBC News |url=http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neil-armstrong-grants-rare-interview-to-accountants-organization-1.1289392 |url-status=live |access-date=April 8, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107163955/http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/neil-armstrong-grants-rare-interview-to-accountants-organization-1.1289392 |archive-date=January 7, 2018}}</ref> and the family moved around the state repeatedly, living in 16 towns over the next 14 years.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=29}} Armstrong's love for flying grew during this time, having started at the age of two when his father took him to the [[National Air Races|Cleveland Air Races]]. When he was five or six, he experienced his first airplane flight in [[Warren, Ohio]], when he and his father took a ride in a [[Ford Trimotor]] (also known as the "Tin Goose").<ref>{{cite web |title=Project Apollo: Astronaut Biographies |publisher=NASA |url=https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/astrobios.htm#Armstrong |access-date=May 12, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110428105817/http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/astrobios.htm#Armstrong |archive-date=April 28, 2011}}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=45|ps=. "According to a volunteer group in Warren, Ohio that had worked through the 2000s to turn the Warren Airport into a historical exhibit, the date of Neil's inaugural flight was July 26, 1936. If that date is correct, Neil was still only five when he experienced his first airplane ride, his sixth birthday not coming for ten more days." }}  Armstrong constructed and flew model aircraft, beginning in his youth.<ref>{{cite magazine |first=Rachelle |last=Haughn |title=One Small Step With Model Aviation |magazine=Model Aviation |date= June 2019 |url=https://www.modelaviation.com/one-small-step |access-date=July 29, 2025}}</ref>

The family's last move was in 1944 and took them back to Wapakoneta, where Armstrong attended [[Blume High School]] and took flying lessons at the Wapakoneta airfield.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=49–50}} He earned a student flight certificate on his 16th birthday, then [[First solo flight|soloed]] in August, all before he had a driver's license.{{sfn|Koestler-Grack|2010|p=14}} He was an active [[Boy Scouts of America|Boy Scout]] and earned the rank of [[Eagle Scout (Boy Scouts of America)|Eagle Scout]].{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=38}} As an adult, he was recognized by the Scouts with their [[Distinguished Eagle Scout Award]] and [[Silver Buffalo Award]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/23385802/the_morning_call/ |title=1st Man on the Moon Gets National Eagle Award |last1=Airgood |first1=Glenn |newspaper=The Morning Call |location=Allentown, Pennsylvania |date=February 16, 1973 |page=5 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.scouting.org/awards/silver-buffalo/previous-winners/1979-1970/ |title=Silver Buffalo Award Winners 1979–1970 |publisher=Boy Scouts of America|access-date=September 2, 2018}}</ref> While flying toward the Moon on July 18, 1969, he sent his regards to attendees at the [[National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America)|National Scout jamboree]] in Idaho.<ref>{{cite web |quote="I'd like to say hello to all my fellow Scouts and Scouters at [[Farragut State Park]] in Idaho having a [[National Scout jamboree (Boy Scouts of America)|National Jamboree]] there this week; and Apollo 11 would like to send them best wishes". [[Capsule communicator]] [[Charles Duke]] replied: "Thank you, Apollo 11. I'm sure that, if they didn't hear that, they'll get the word through the news. Certainly appreciate that." |title=Apollo 11 – Day 3, part 2: Entering Eagle – Transcript |publisher=NASA |date=April 11, 2010 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/09day3-entering-eagle.html |access-date=February 14, 2022 }}</ref> Among the few personal items that he carried with him to the Moon and back was a World Scout Badge.<ref>{{cite web |title=World Scouting salutes Neil Armstrong |publisher=World Organization of the Scout Movement |url=http://oldsite.scout.org/en/information_events/news/world_scouting_salutes_neil_armstrong |access-date=July 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004807/http://oldsite.scout.org/en/information_events/news/world_scouting_salutes_neil_armstrong |archive-date=September 4, 2015}}</ref>

At age 17, in 1947, Armstrong began studying [[Aerospace engineering|aeronautical engineering]] at [[Purdue University]] in [[West Lafayette, Indiana]]; he was the second person in his family to attend college. Armstrong was also accepted to the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] (MIT),{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=55–56}} but he resolved to go to Purdue after watching a [[American football|football]] game between the [[Purdue Boilermakers football|Purdue Boilermakers]] and the [[Ohio State Buckeyes football|Ohio State Buckeyes]] at the [[Ohio Stadium]] in 1945 in which quarterback [[Bob DeMoss]] led the Boilermakers to a sound victory over the highly regarded Buckeyes.<ref>{{cite web |title=The untold story of how Neil Armstrong chose Purdue |website=wlfi.com |url=https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/The-untold-story-of-how-Neil-Armstrong-chose-Purdue-512192321.html |access-date=July 5, 2019 |archive-date=July 4, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190704035141/https://www.wlfi.com/content/news/The-untold-story-of-how-Neil-Armstrong-chose-Purdue-512192321.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> An uncle who attended MIT had also advised him that he could receive a good education without going all the way to [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]. His college tuition was paid for under the [[James L. Holloway, Jr.#Holloway Plan|Holloway Plan]]. Successful applicants committed to two years of study, followed by two years of flight training and one year of service as an aviator in the [[U.S. Navy]], then completion of the final two years of their bachelor's degree.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=55–56}} Armstrong did not take courses in naval science, nor did he join the [[Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=58}}

== Navy service ==
[[File:Neil Armstrong 23 May 1952 (cropped).jpg|thumb|right|upright|Ensign Neil Armstrong on May 23, 1952|alt=A black-and-white image of a light-skinned man in his early 20s. He is looking off to his right. He has mid-colored hair parted to the right. He wears a light-colored military uniform with an eagle badge on the left chest. His epaulettes are dark and have a light bar and star. He has a white shirt and a dark necktie.]]
Armstrong's call-up from the Navy arrived on January 26, 1949, requiring him to report to [[Naval Air Station Pensacola]] in Florida for flight training with class 5-49. After passing the medical examinations, he became a [[midshipman]] on February 24, 1949.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=68–69}} Flight training was conducted in a [[North American T-6 Texan|North American SNJ trainer]], in which he soloed on September 9, 1949.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=71}} On March 2, 1950, he made his first [[aircraft carrier]] landing on {{USS|Cabot|CVL-28|6}}, an achievement he considered comparable to his first solo flight.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=71}} He was then sent to [[Naval Air Station Corpus Christi]] in Texas for training on the [[Grumman F8F Bearcat]], culminating in a carrier landing on {{USS|Wright|CVL-49|6}}. On August 16, 1950, Armstrong was informed by letter that he was a fully qualified [[United States Naval Aviator|naval aviator]]. His mother and sister attended his graduation ceremony on August 23, 1950.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=76–79}}

Armstrong was assigned to Fleet Aircraft Service Squadron{{nbsp}}7 (FASRON 7) at [[Naval Air Station North Island|NAS San Diego]] (now known as NAS North Island). On November 27, 1950, he was assigned to [[VF-51]], an all-jet squadron, becoming its youngest officer, and made his first flight in a jet, a [[Grumman F9F Panther]], on January 5, 1951. He was promoted to [[Ensign (rank)|ensign]] on June 5, 1951, and made his first jet carrier landing on {{USS|Essex|CV-9|6}} two days later. On June 28, 1951, ''Essex'' had set sail for Korea, with VF-51 aboard to act as [[ground-attack aircraft]]. VF-51 flew ahead to [[Naval Air Station Barbers Point]] in Hawaii, where it conducted fighter-bomber training before rejoining the ship at the end of July.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=79–85}}

On August 29, 1951, Armstrong saw action in the [[Korean War]] as an escort for a photo [[reconnaissance]] plane over [[Songjin]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=90}} Five days later, on September 3, he flew armed reconnaissance over the primary transportation and storage facilities south of the village of Majon-ni, west of [[Wonsan]]. According to Armstrong, he was making a low bombing run at {{convert|350|mph|-1|abbr=on}} when {{convert|6|ft|m}} of his wing was torn off after it collided with a cable that was strung across the hills as a booby trap. He was flying {{convert|500|ft|m}} above the ground when he hit it. While there was heavy anti-aircraft fire in the area, none hit Armstrong's aircraft.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=94}} An initial report to the commanding officer of ''Essex'' said that Armstrong's F9F Panther was hit by [[Anti-aircraft warfare|anti-aircraft fire]]. The report indicated he was trying to regain control and collided with a pole, which sliced off {{convert|2|ft|m}} of the Panther's right wing. Further perversions of the story by different authors added that he was only {{convert|20|ft|m}} from the ground and that {{convert|3|ft|m}} of his wing was sheared off.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=92–93}}

[[File:F9F-2 Panthers VF-51 over Korea 1951.jpg|thumb|left|[[Grumman F9F Panther|F9F-2 Panthers]] over Korea, with Armstrong piloting S-116 (left)|alt=Two dark-blue-painted single-seat military jets flying from left to right in echelon. They wear the mark of the U.S. military on the nose, and a number. The nearer plane is 107 and the further is 116. On the fin is the letter 'S' and just in front the word NAVY. The planes have wingtip drop tanks and bubble canopies.]]
Armstrong flew the plane back to friendly territory, but because of the loss of the [[aileron]], [[ejection seat|ejection]] was his only safe option. He intended to eject over water and await rescue by Navy helicopters, but his parachute was blown back over land. A jeep driven by a roommate from flight school picked him up; it is unknown what happened to the wreckage of his aircraft, F9F-2 BuNo ''125122''.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=95–96}}

In all, Armstrong flew 78{{nbsp}}missions over Korea for a total of 121{{nbsp}}hours in the air, a third of them in January 1952, with the final mission on March 5, 1952. Of 492 U.S. Navy personnel killed in the Korean War, 27 of them were from  ''Essex'' on this war cruise. Armstrong received the [[Air Medal]] for 20 combat missions, two [[5/16 inch star|gold stars]] for the next 40, the [[Korean Service Medal]] and Engagement Star,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=112}} the [[National Defense Service Medal]], and the [[United Nations Korea Medal]].<ref name="USN record"/>

Armstrong's regular commission was terminated on February 25, 1952, and he became an ensign in the [[United States Navy Reserve]]. On completion of his combat tour with ''Essex'', he was assigned to a transport squadron, VR-32, in May 1952. He was released from active duty on August 23, 1952, but remained in the reserve, and was promoted to [[lieutenant (junior grade)]] on May 9, 1953.<ref name="USN record" /> As a reservist, he continued to fly, first with VF-724 at [[Naval Air Station Glenview]] in Illinois, and then, after moving to California, with VF-773 at [[Naval Air Station Los Alamitos]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=118}} He remained in the reserve for eight years before resigning his commission on October 21, 1960.<ref name="USN record">{{cite web |url=https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/bios/Armstrong-Neil/Armstrong_redacted_Redacted.pdf |title=Ex-Lieutenant (junior grade) Neil Alden Armstrong, U.S. Naval Reserve, Transcript of Naval Service |access-date=February 28, 2018 |publisher=United States Navy |date=March 27, 1967 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170506025424/https://www.history.navy.mil/content/dam/nhhc/research/histories/bios/Armstrong-Neil/Armstrong_redacted_Redacted.pdf |archive-date=May 6, 2017}}</ref>

== College years ==
After his service with the Navy, Armstrong returned to Purdue. His previously earned good but not outstanding [[Academic grading in the United States#Six-point system|grades]] now improved, lifting his final Grade Point Average (GPA) to a respectable but not outstanding 4.8 out of 6.0. He pledged the [[Phi Delta Theta]] [[Fraternities and sororities in North America|fraternity]], and lived in its fraternity house. He wrote and co-directed two musicals as part of the all-student revue. The first was a version of ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', co-directed with his girlfriend Joanne Alford from the [[Alpha Chi Omega]] sorority, with songs from the [[Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film)|1937 Walt Disney film]], including "[[Someday My Prince Will Come]]"; the second was titled ''The Land of Egelloc'' ("college" spelled backward), with music from [[Gilbert and Sullivan]] but new lyrics. 

Armstrong was chairman of the Purdue Aero Flying Club, and flew the club's aircraft, an [[Aeronca Aircraft|Aeronca]] and a couple of [[Piper Aircraft|Pipers]], which were kept at nearby Aretz Airport in [[Lafayette, Indiana]]. Flying the Aeronca to Wapakoneta in 1954, he damaged it in a rough landing in a farmer's field, and it had to be hauled back to Lafayette on a trailer.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=61–62}} He was a [[baritone horn|baritone]] player in the [[Purdue All-American Marching Band]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Purdue mourns alumnus Neil Armstrong |url=https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/Q3/purdue-mourns-alumnus-neil-armstrong.html|access-date=April 2, 2018 |date=August 25, 2012 |publisher=Purdue University |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171216125803/http://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2012/Q3/purdue-mourns-alumnus-neil-armstrong.html |archive-date=December 16, 2017}}</ref> Ten years later he was made an honorary member of [[Kappa Kappa Psi]] national band honorary fraternity.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.purdue.edu/uns/html3month/1997/970425.Bands.campaign.html |access-date=July 10, 2018 |date=April 25, 1997 |title=Purdue Bands launch $2 million fund-raising campaign |publisher=Purdue University}}</ref> Armstrong graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in [[Aeronautical Engineering]] in January 1955.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=118}} In 1970, he completed his Master of Science degree in [[Aerospace Engineering]] at the [[University of Southern California]] (USC).<ref name="NASA-bio">{{cite web |title=Biographical Data: Neil A. Armstrong |date=August 2012 |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html |access-date=April 7, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204041951/https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/armstrong-na.html |archive-date=December 4, 2017}}</ref> He would eventually be awarded honorary doctorates by several universities.<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography: Neil A. Armstrong |publisher=NASA ([[Glenn Research Center]]) |date=March 2008 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/neilabio.html |access-date=May 16, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110526004733/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/glenn/about/bios/neilabio.html |archive-date=May 26, 2011}}</ref>

Armstrong met Janet Elizabeth Shearon, who was majoring in [[family and consumer science|home economics]], at a party hosted by Alpha Chi Omega.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=62}} According to the couple, there was no real courtship, and neither could remember the exact circumstances of their engagement. They were married on January 28, 1956, at the Congregational Church in [[Wilmette, Illinois]]. When he moved to [[Edwards Air Force Base]], he lived in the bachelor quarters of the base, while Janet lived in the [[Westwood, Los Angeles|Westwood]] district of Los Angeles. After one semester, they moved into a house in [[Antelope Valley]], near Edwards AFB. Janet did not finish her degree, a fact she regretted later in life. The couple had three children.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=124–128}} In June 1961, their daughter Karen was diagnosed with [[diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma]], a [[malignant]] [[tumor]] of the middle part of her [[Brainstem|brain stem]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2019/03/01/health/iyw-girl-cancer-dog-photos-trnd/index.html|title=Girl, 7, Fighting Rare Cancer Gets Pics of Dogs from Well-Wishers|last1=Chillag|first1=Amy|last2=Higgins|first2=Cole|publisher=[[CNN]]|date=March 1, 2019|access-date=November 24, 2019}}</ref> X-ray treatment slowed its growth, but her health deteriorated to the point where she could no longer walk or talk. She died of [[pneumonia]], related to her weakened health, on January 28, 1962, aged two.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=161–164}}

== Test pilot ==
Following his graduation from Purdue, Armstrong became an experimental research test pilot. He applied at the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics]] (NACA) [[Armstrong Flight Research Center|High-Speed Flight Station]] at Edwards Air Force Base.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=119–120}} NACA had no open positions, and forwarded his application to the [[Glenn Research Center|Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory]] in [[Cleveland]], where Armstrong made his first test flight on March 1, 1955.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=119–120}} Armstrong's stint at Cleveland lasted only a couple of months before a position at the High-Speed Flight Station became available, and he reported for work there on July 11, 1955.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=130}}

[[File:Neil Armstrong 1956 portrait.jpg|thumb|left|upright|alt=A black-and-white photo of a young man with light skin and pale irises. His mid-colored hair is cut short. He is looking at the camera. He is wearing a barleycorn sport coat, a white shirt and a dark necktie.|Armstrong, 26, <!-- taken November 20, 1956, --> as a test pilot at the [[National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics|NACA]] [[Armstrong Flight Research Center|High-Speed Flight Station]] at [[Edwards Air Force Base|Edwards AFB]], California]]
On his first day, Armstrong was tasked with piloting [[chase plane]]s during releases of experimental aircraft from modified bombers. He also flew the modified bombers, and on one of these missions had his first flight incident at Edwards. On March 22, 1956, he was in a [[Boeing B-29 Superfortress]],{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=134}} which was to air-drop a [[Douglas D-558-2 Skyrocket]]. He sat in the right-hand co-pilot seat while pilot in command, Stan Butchart sat in the left-hand pilot seat flying the B-29.<ref>{{cite web |last=Creech |first=Gray |title=From the Mojave to the Moon: Neil Armstrong's Early NASA Years |publisher=NASA |date=July 15, 2004 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/neil_armstrong.html |access-date=May 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110630200654/http://www.nasa.gov/missions/research/neil_armstrong.html |archive-date=June 30, 2011}}</ref>

As they climbed to {{convert|30000|ft|km|0}}, the [[aircraft engine position number|number-four engine]] stopped and the [[Propeller (aircraft)|propeller]] began windmilling (rotating freely) in the airstream. Despite hitting the switch that would normally stop the propeller's spinning, Butchart watched it slow before speeding up again on its own accord even faster than the others;{{Clarify|reason=The original sentence felt a bit clunky. Not necessarily saying mine is perfect, but I think it can be polished further. Also, was it sped up because of a mechanical failure or the airstream overpowering the cutoff function?|date=October 2025}} if it spun too fast, it would break apart. Their aircraft needed to hold an airspeed of {{convert|210|mph|0|abbr=on}} to launch its Skyrocket payload, and the B-29 could not land with the Skyrocket attached to its belly. Armstrong and Butchart brought the aircraft into a nose-down [[Attitude (geometry)|attitude]] to increase speed, then launched the Skyrocket. At the instant of launch, the number-four engine propeller disintegrated. Pieces of it damaged the number-three engine and hit the number-two engine. Butchart and Armstrong were forced to shut down the damaged number-three engine, along with the number-one engine, because of the [[torque]] it created. They made a slow, circling descent from {{convert|30000|ft|km|0|abbr=on}} using only the number-two engine, and landed safely.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=134–136}}

Armstrong served as project pilot on [[Century Series]] fighters, including the [[North American F-100 Super Sabre]] A and C variants, the [[McDonnell F-101 Voodoo]], the [[Lockheed F-104 Starfighter]], the [[Republic F-105 Thunderchief]] and the [[Convair F-106 Delta Dart]]. He also flew the [[Douglas DC-3]], [[Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star]], [[North American F-86 Sabre]], [[McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II]], [[Douglas F5D-1 Skylancer]], Boeing B-29 Superfortress, [[Boeing B-47 Stratojet]] and [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker]], and was one of eight elite pilots involved in the [[NASA Paresev|Paresev]] paraglider research vehicle program.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=136–138}} Over his career, he flew more than 200 different models of aircraft.<ref name="NASA-bio" /> His first flight in a [[rocket-powered aircraft]] was on August 15, 1957, in the [[Bell X-1]]B, to an altitude of {{convert|11.4|mi|km|1}}. On landing, the poorly designed [[Landing gear|nose landing gear]] failed, as had happened on about a dozen previous flights of the Bell X-1B. He flew the [[North American X-15]] seven times,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=145}} including the first flight with the Q-ball system, the first flight of the number{{nbsp}}3 X-15 airframe, and the first flight of the MH-96 adaptive flight control system.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mach25media.com/Resources/X15FlightLog.pdf |title=The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flight Log |pages=22, 25 |publisher=Mach 25 Media |first=Michelle |last=Evans |year=2013 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180413002147/http://www.mach25media.com/Resources/X15FlightLog.pdf |archive-date=April 13, 2018}}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=147}} He became an employee of the [[National Aeronautics and Space Administration]] (NASA) when it was established on October 1, 1958, absorbing NACA.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/glennan.html |title=T. Keith Glennan |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214234112/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/Biographies/glennan.html |archive-date=February 14, 2017 }}</ref>

Armstrong was involved in several incidents that went down in Edwards folklore or were chronicled in the memoirs of colleagues. During his sixth X-15 flight on April 20, 1962, Armstrong was testing the MH-96 control system when he flew to a height of over {{convert|207000|ft|km}} (the highest he flew before [[Gemini 8]]). He held up the aircraft nose during its descent to demonstrate the MH-96's g-limiting performance, and the X-15 ballooned back up to around {{convert|140000|feet|km}}. He flew past the landing field at [[Mach number|Mach]]{{nbsp}}3 at over {{convert|100000|ft|km}} in altitude, and ended up {{convert|40|mi|km}} south of Edwards. After sufficient descent, he turned back toward the landing area, and landed. It was the longest X-15 flight in both flight time and length of the ground track.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=178–184}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/air-space-magazine/neil-armstrongs-x-15-flight-over-pasadena-59458462/ |title=Neil Armstrong's X-15 flight over Pasadena |work=Smithsonian Air & Space Magazine |last=Klesius |first=Mike |date=May 20, 2009 |access-date=January 25, 2023}}</ref>

[[File:Pilot Neil Armstrong and X-15 -1 - GPN-2000-000121.jpg|thumb|right|alt=A black-and-white photo of Armstrong, with very short hair. He is smiling and is wearing a pressure suit and tall lace-up boots. Under his left arm he holds a bulky pressure helmet. He has black gloves on, and his right-hand rests on the nose of a dark-painted X-15 rocket plane with its canopy open. Armstrong and the plane are standing on a desert crust, and the plane's skids have left tracks in it.|Armstrong and [[North American X-15|X-15-1]] after a research flight in 1960]]

Fellow astronaut [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]] wrote that of the X-15 pilots Armstrong "had been considered one of the weaker stick-and-rudder men, but the very best when it came to understanding the machine's design and how it operated".{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=314}} Many of the test pilots at Edwards praised Armstrong's engineering ability. [[Milton Orville Thompson|Milt Thompson]] said he was "the most technically capable of the early X-15 pilots". [[Bill Dana (pilot)|Bill Dana]] said Armstrong "had a mind that absorbed things like a sponge". Those who flew for the Air Force tended to have a different opinion, especially people like [[Chuck Yeager]] and [[William J. Knight|Pete Knight]], who did not have engineering degrees. Knight said that pilot-engineers flew in a way that was "more mechanical than it is flying", and gave this as the reason why some pilot-engineers got into trouble: Their flying skills did not come naturally.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=138–139}} Armstrong made seven [[List of X-15 flights|flights in the X-15]] between November 30, 1960, and July 26, 1962.{{sfn|Jenkins|2000|pp=118–121}} He reached a top speed of Mach 5.74 ({{convert|3989|mph|0|abbr=on|disp=comma}}) in the X-15-1, and left the Flight Research Center with a total of 2,400 flying hours.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=210}}

On April 24, 1962, Armstrong flew for the only time with Yeager. Their job, flying a T-33, was to evaluate Smith Ranch Dry Lake in Nevada for use as an emergency landing site for the X-15. In his autobiography, Yeager wrote that he knew the lake bed was unsuitable for landings after recent rains, but Armstrong insisted on flying out anyway. As they attempted a [[Touch-and-go landing|touch-and-go]], the wheels became stuck and they had to wait for rescue. As Armstrong told the story, Yeager never tried to talk him out of it and they made a first successful landing on the east side of the lake. Then Yeager told him to try again, this time a bit slower. On the second landing, they became stuck, provoking Yeager to fits of laughter.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=184–189}}

On May 21, 1962, Armstrong was involved in the "Nellis Affair". He was sent in an F-104 to inspect [[Delamar Dry Lake]] in southern Nevada, again for emergency landings. He misjudged his altitude and did not realize that the landing gear had not fully extended. As he touched down, the landing gear began to retract; Armstrong applied full power to abort the landing, but the ventral fin and landing gear door struck the ground, damaging the radio and releasing [[hydraulic fluid]]. Without radio communication, Armstrong flew south to [[Nellis Air Force Base]], past the control tower, and waggled his wings, the signal for a no-radio approach. The loss of hydraulic fluid caused the [[tailhook]] to release, and upon landing, he caught the arresting wire attached to an anchor chain, and dragged the chain along the runway.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=189–192}}

It took thirty minutes to clear the runway and rig another arresting cable. Armstrong telephoned Edwards and asked for someone to collect him. Milt Thompson was sent in an F-104B, the only two-seater available, but a plane Thompson had never flown. With great difficulty, Thompson made it to Nellis, where a strong crosswind caused a hard landing and the left main tire suffered a blowout. The runway was again closed to clear it, and Bill Dana was sent to Nellis in a T-33, but he almost landed long. The Nellis base operations office then decided that to avoid any further problems, it would be best to find the three NASA pilots ground transport back to Edwards.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=189–192}}

== Astronaut career ==
[[File:Neil Armstrong in Gemini G-2C training suit.jpg|thumb|upright|alt=Armstrong standing up, wearing an early space suit. It is highly reflective silver in appearance. He is wearing the helmet, which is white, with the visor raised. A thick dark hose is connected to one of the two ports on the front abdomen of the suit.|Armstrong in an early [[Project Gemini|Gemini]] space suit]]

In June 1958, Armstrong was selected for the U.S. Air Force's [[Man in Space Soonest]] program, but the [[Advanced Research Projects Agency]] (ARPA) canceled its funding on August 1, 1958, and on November 5, 1958, it was superseded by [[Project Mercury]], a civilian project run by NASA. As a NASA civilian test pilot, Armstrong was ineligible to become one of its astronauts at this time, as selection was restricted to military test pilots.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=17–18}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.airspacemag.com/space-exploration/first_up.html |title=First Up? |first=Tony |last=Reichhardt |magazine=[[Air & Space/Smithsonian|Air & Space]] |date=August–September 2000 |access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> In November 1960, he was chosen as part of the pilot consultant group for the [[Boeing X-20 Dyna-Soar|X-20 Dyna-Soar]], a military space plane under development by Boeing for the U.S. Air Force, and on March 15, 1962, he was selected by the U.S. Air Force as one of seven pilot-engineers who would fly the X-20 when it got off the design board.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=171–173}}{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=19–21}}

In April 1962, NASA sought applications for the second group of NASA astronauts for [[Project Gemini]], a proposed two-man spacecraft. This time, selection was open to qualified civilian test pilots.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=4–6}} Armstrong visited the [[Seattle World's Fair]] in May 1962 and attended a conference there on space exploration that was co-sponsored by NASA. After he returned from [[Seattle]] on June 4, he applied to become an astronaut. His application arrived about a week past the June 1, 1962, deadline, but Dick Day, a flight simulator expert with whom Armstrong had worked closely at Edwards, saw the late arrival of the application and slipped it into the pile before anyone noticed.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=193–195}} At [[Brooks Air Force Base]] at the end of June, Armstrong underwent a medical exam that many of the applicants described as painful and at times seemingly pointless.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=29–30}}

NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, [[Deke Slayton]], called Armstrong on September 13, 1962, and asked whether he would be interested in joining the [[NASA Astronaut Corps]] as part of what the press dubbed "the [[NASA Astronaut Group 2|New Nine]]"; without hesitation, Armstrong said yes. The selections were kept secret until three days later, although newspaper reports had circulated since earlier that year that he would be selected as the "first civilian astronaut".{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=201–202}} Armstrong was one of two civilian pilots selected for this group;{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=64–66}} the other was [[Elliot See]], another former naval aviator.<ref>{{cite web |title=Elliot M. See, Jr |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/see-em.html |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513235725/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/see-em.html |archive-date=May 13, 2011 }}</ref> NASA selected the second group that, compared with the [[Mercury Seven]] astronauts, were younger,{{sfn|Burgess|2013|pp=29–30}} and had more impressive academic credentials.{{sfn|Burgess|2013|p=54}} Collins wrote that Armstrong was by far the most experienced test pilot in the Astronaut Corps.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=314}}

=== Gemini program ===
==== Gemini 5 ====
On February 8, 1965, Armstrong and Elliot See were picked as the backup crew for [[Gemini 5]], with Armstrong as commander, supporting the prime crew of [[Gordon Cooper]] and [[Pete Conrad]].{{sfn|Reichl|2016|p=78}} The mission's purpose was to practice [[space rendezvous]] and to develop procedures and equipment for a seven-day flight, all of which would be required for a mission to the Moon. With two other flights ([[Gemini 3]] and [[Gemini 4]]) in preparation, six crews were competing for simulator time, so Gemini{{nbsp}}5 was postponed. It finally lifted off on August 21.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=255–256}} Armstrong and See watched the launch at [[Cape Kennedy]], then flew to the [[Manned Spacecraft Center]] (MSC) in Houston.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=239}} The mission was generally successful, despite a problem with the [[fuel cell]]s that prevented a rendezvous. Cooper and Conrad practiced a "phantom rendezvous", carrying out the maneuver without a target.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=257–258}}
{{-}}

==== Gemini 8 ====
{{Main|Gemini 8}}
[[File:GEMINI-TITAN (GT)-8 - PRELAUNCH ACTIVITY - CAPE (s66-24446).jpg|thumb|left|Armstrong, 35, suiting up for [[Gemini 8]] in March 1966|alt=Armstrong, with short hair, partially reclining on a beige chair. He looks very serious. He is wearing a white space suit without a helmet or gloves. It has the U.S. flag on the left shoulder. Two hoses are attached. A technician dressed all in white is bending over him. A dark-haired, darkly dressed man has his back to us. He may be talking to Armstrong.]]

The crews for Gemini{{nbsp}}8 were assigned on September 20, 1965. Under the normal rotation system, the backup crew for one mission became the prime crew for the third mission after, but Slayton designated [[David Scott]] as the pilot of Gemini{{nbsp}}8.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=240}}{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=523–529}} Scott was the first member of the [[NASA Astronaut Group 3|third group of astronauts]], who was selected on October 18, 1963, to receive a prime crew assignment.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/roundups/issues/63-10-30.pdf |title=14 New Astronauts Introduced at Press Conference |newspaper=Space News |volume=3 |issue=1 |date=October 30, 1963 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161222121909/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/roundups/issues/63-10-30.pdf |archive-date=December 22, 2016}}</ref> See was designated to command [[Gemini 9]]. Henceforth, each Gemini mission was commanded by a member of Armstrong's group, with a member of Scott's group as the pilot. Conrad would be Armstrong's backup this time, and [[Richard F. Gordon Jr.]] his pilot.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=240}}{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=523–529}} Armstrong became the first American civilian in space. ([[Valentina Tereshkova]] of the [[Soviet Union]] had become the first civilian—and first woman—nearly three years earlier aboard [[Vostok 6]] when it launched on June 16, 1963.<ref>{{cite web |title=Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Born March 6, 1937) |url=http://www.yarregion.ru/eng/Pages/famous_people_Valentina_Vladimirovna_Tereshkova.aspx |publisher=Yaroslavl Regional Government |access-date=July 27, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904004808/http://www.yarregion.ru/eng/Pages/famous_people_Valentina_Vladimirovna_Tereshkova.aspx |archive-date=September 4, 2015 }}</ref>) Armstrong would also be the last of his group to fly in space, as See died in a [[1966 NASA T-38 crash|T-38 crash]] on February 28, 1966, that also took the life of crewmate [[Charles Bassett]]. They were replaced by the backup crew of [[Thomas P. Stafford|Tom Stafford]] and [[Gene Cernan]], while [[Jim Lovell]] and Buzz Aldrin moved up from the backup crew of [[Gemini 10]] to become the backup for Gemini 9,{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=323–325}} and would eventually fly [[Gemini 12]].{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|p=258}}

Gemini 8 launched on March 16, 1966. It was the most complex mission yet, with a rendezvous and docking with an [[uncrewed spacecraft|uncrewed]] [[Agena target vehicle]], and the planned second American [[extravehicular activity|spacewalk]] ([[extravehicular activity|EVA]]) by Scott. The mission was planned to last 75{{nbsp}}hours and 55{{nbsp}}orbits. After the Agena lifted off at 10:00:00 [[Eastern Time Zone|EST]],{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=242–244}} the [[Titan II GLV|Titan II]] rocket carrying Armstrong and Scott ignited at 11:41:02 EST, putting them into an orbit from which they chased the Agena.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|p=526}} They achieved the first-ever docking between two spacecraft.<ref>{{cite web |title=March 16, 1966: Gemini's First Docking of Two Spacecraft in Earth Orbit |publisher=NASA |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/march-16-1966-geminis-first-docking-of-two-spacecraft-in-earth-orbit |access-date=April 30, 2018 |date=March 16, 2016}}</ref> Contact with the crew was intermittent due to the lack of tracking stations covering their entire orbits. While out of contact with the ground, the docked spacecraft began to roll, and Armstrong attempted to correct this with the Gemini's [[Orbit Attitude and Maneuvering System]] (OAMS). Following the earlier advice of Mission Control, they undocked, but the roll increased dramatically until they were turning about once per second, indicating a problem with Gemini's [[Spacecraft attitude control|attitude control]]. Armstrong engaged the Reentry Control System (RCS) and turned off the OAMS. Mission rules dictated that once this system was turned on, the spacecraft had to reenter at the next possible opportunity. It was later thought that damaged wiring caused one of the thrusters to stick in the on position.<ref>{{cite web |last=Merritt |first=Larry |title=The abbreviated flight of Gemini 8 |publisher=Boeing |url=http://bts.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2006/march/i_history.html |date=March 2006 |access-date=May 14, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110812222659/http://bts.boeing.com/news/frontiers/archive/2006/march/i_history.html |archive-date=August 12, 2011}}</ref>

[[File:Armstrong and Scott with Hatches Open - GPN-2000-001413.jpg|thumb|alt=A dark gray Gemini capsule floats horizontally in blue water. It is supported by a yellow flotation collar. The hatches are open and the astronauts are visible sitting in their places wearing sunglasses. They are being assisted by three recovery crew in dark gray wetsuits.|Recovery of [[Gemini 8]] from the western Pacific Ocean; Armstrong sitting to the right]]
A few people in the Astronaut Office, including [[Walter Cunningham]], felt that Armstrong and Scott "had botched their first mission".{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|pp=111–112}} There was speculation that Armstrong could have salvaged the mission if he had turned on only one of the two RCS rings, saving the other for mission objectives. These criticisms were unfounded; no malfunction procedures had been written, and it was possible to turn on only both RCS rings, not one or the other.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=270–271}} [[Gene Kranz]] wrote, "The crew reacted as they were trained, and they reacted wrong because we trained them wrong." The mission planners and controllers had failed to realize that when two spacecraft were docked, they must be considered one spacecraft. Kranz considered this the mission's most important lesson.{{sfn|Kranz|2000|p=174}} Armstrong was depressed that the mission was cut short,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=274}} canceling most mission objectives and robbing Scott of his EVA. The Agena was later reused as a docking target by Gemini 10.{{sfn|Hacker|Grimwood|2010|pp=321–322}} Armstrong and Scott received the [[NASA Exceptional Service Medal]],<ref name="NASA Awards">{{citation |url=https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released |title=Agency Awards Historical Recipient List |publisher=NASA |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161202083252/https://searchpub.nssc.nasa.gov/servlet/sm.web.Fetch/Agency_Awards_Historical_Recipient_List.pdf?rhid=1000&did=2120817&type=released |archive-date=December 2, 2016}}</ref><ref name=zanesville>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/31060661/the_times_recorder/|title=Serious Problem in Space|agency=United Press International|newspaper=The Times Recorder|location=Zanesville, Ohio|page=8|date=March 27, 1966|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the Air Force awarded Scott the [[Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)|Distinguished Flying Cross]] as well.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=143831 |title=Valor awards for David Randolph Scott |publisher=Military Times Hall of Valor|access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301225001/https://valor.militarytimes.com/recipient.php?recipientid=143831 |archive-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> Scott was promoted to [[lieutenant colonel (United States)|lieutenant colonel]], and Armstrong received a $678 raise in pay to $21,653 a year ({{Inflation|US|21,653|1966|fmt=eq}}), making him NASA's highest-paid astronaut.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=274}}

==== Gemini 11 ====
{{Main|Gemini 11}}
In Armstrong's final assignment in the Gemini program, he was the back-up Command Pilot for [[Gemini 11]]. Having trained for two flights, Armstrong was quite knowledgeable about the systems and took on a teaching role for the rookie backup pilot, [[William Anders]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=292–293}} The launch was on September 12, 1966,<ref>{{cite web |title=Gemini-XI |publisher=NASA (Kennedy Space Center) |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-xi/gemini-xi.html |access-date=July 24, 2010 |date=August 25, 2000 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201213341/http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/gemini/gemini-xi/gemini-xi.html |archive-date=February 1, 2012}}</ref> with Conrad and Gordon on board, who successfully completed the mission objectives, while Armstrong served as a [[capsule communicator]] (CAPCOM).{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=294–296}}

Following the flight, President [[Lyndon B. Johnson]] asked Armstrong and his wife to take part in a 24-day goodwill tour of South America.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=296–297}} Also on the tour, which took in 11{{nbsp}}countries and 14{{nbsp}}major cities, were Dick Gordon, [[George Low]], their wives, and other government officials. In Paraguay, Armstrong greeted dignitaries in their local language, [[Guarani language|Guarani]]; in Brazil he talked about the exploits of the Brazilian-born aviation pioneer [[Alberto Santos-Dumont]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=298–299}}

=== Apollo program ===
On January 27, 1967—the day of the [[Apollo 1 fire]]—Armstrong was in Washington, D.C., with Cooper, Gordon, Lovell and [[Scott Carpenter]] for the signing of the United Nations [[Outer Space Treaty]]. The astronauts chatted with the assembled dignitaries until 18:45, when Carpenter went to the airport, and the others returned to the Georgetown Inn, where they each found messages to phone the MSC. During these calls, they learned of the deaths of [[Gus Grissom]], [[Ed White (astronaut)|Ed White]] and [[Roger B. Chaffee|Roger Chaffee]] in the fire. Armstrong and the group spent the rest of the night drinking scotch and discussing what had happened.{{sfn|Lovell|Kluger|2000|pp=24–25}}

On April 5, 1967, the same day the Apollo{{nbsp}}1 investigation released its final report, Armstrong and 17 other astronauts gathered for a meeting with Slayton. The first thing Slayton said was, "The guys who are going to fly the first lunar missions are the guys in this room."{{sfn|Cernan|Davis|1999|p=165}} According to Cernan, only Armstrong showed no reaction to the statement. To Armstrong it came as no surprise—the room was full of veterans of Project Gemini, the only people who could fly the lunar missions. Slayton talked about the planned missions and named Armstrong to the backup crew for [[Apollo 9]], which at that stage was planned as a [[medium Earth orbit]] test of the combined [[lunar module]] and [[command and service module]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=312–313}}

The crew was officially assigned on November 20, 1967.{{sfn|Brooks et al.|2009|p=374}} For crewmates, Armstrong was assigned Lovell and Aldrin, from Gemini 12. After design and manufacturing delays of the lunar module (LM), [[Apollo 8]] and{{nbsp}}9 swapped prime and backup crews. Based on the normal crew rotation, Armstrong would command Apollo 11,{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=312–313}} with one change: Collins on the Apollo{{nbsp}}8 crew began experiencing trouble with his legs. Doctors diagnosed the problem as a bony growth between his fifth and sixth vertebrae, requiring surgery.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=288–289}} Lovell took his place on the Apollo{{nbsp}}8 crew, and, when Collins recovered, he joined Armstrong's crew.{{sfn|Cunningham|2010|p=109}}

[[File:Apollo 11 LLRV 1.jpg|thumb|left|Armstrong descends to the ground on a parachute after ejecting from [[Lunar Landing Research Vehicle]] 1.|alt=An indistinct photo of a smoke trail rising from an area of orange fire in a recently harvested field. A white and orange parachute is recovering a human figure above and to the right of the fire.]]To give the astronauts practice piloting the LM on its descent, NASA commissioned [[Bell Aircraft]] to build two [[Lunar Landing Research Vehicle]]s (LLRV), later augmented with three Lunar Landing Training Vehicles (LLTV). Nicknamed the "Flying Bedsteads", they simulated the Moon's one-sixth gravity using a [[turbofan]] engine to support five-sixths of the craft's weight. On May 6, 1968, {{convert|100|feet|m|0}} above the ground, Armstrong's controls started to degrade and the LLRV began [[aircraft principal axes|rolling]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=330}} He ejected safely before the vehicle struck the ground and burst into flames. Later analysis suggested that if he had ejected half a second later, his parachute would not have opened in time. His only injury was from biting his tongue. The LLRV was completely destroyed.{{sfn|Kraft|2001|p=312}} Even though he was nearly killed, Armstrong maintained that without the LLRV and LLTV, the lunar landings would not have been successful, as they gave commanders essential experience in piloting the lunar landing craft.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=334}}

In addition to the LLRV training, NASA began lunar landing simulator training after Apollo 10 was completed. Aldrin and Armstrong trained for a variety of scenarios that could develop during a real lunar landing.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=171}} They also received briefings from geologists at NASA.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=179}}

==== Apollo 11 ====
{{Main|Apollo 11}}
[[File:Ap11-s69-31740.jpg|thumb|alt=Three astronauts in white space suits. They are holding their helmets. All are light-skinned. Armstrong is smiling widely and wears his hair parted to the right. Collins has dark hair and looks the most serious. Aldrin's hair is very short. Behind them is a large photo of the Moon.|The [[Apollo 11]] crew: Armstrong, [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]], and [[Buzz Aldrin]].]]
After Armstrong served as backup commander for Apollo{{nbsp}}8, Slayton offered him the post of commander of Apollo 11 on December 23, 1968, as Apollo{{nbsp}}8 orbited the Moon.{{sfn|Nelson|2009|p=17}} According to Armstrong's [[First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong|2005 biography]], Slayton told him that although the planned crew was Commander Armstrong, Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin, and Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, he was offering Armstrong the chance to replace Aldrin with Jim Lovell. After thinking it over for a day, Armstrong told Slayton he would stick with Aldrin, as he had no difficulty working with him and thought Lovell deserved his own command. Replacing Aldrin with Lovell would have made Lovell the lunar module pilot, unofficially the lowest ranked member, and Armstrong could not justify placing Lovell, the commander of Gemini 12, in the number{{nbsp}}3 position of the crew.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=338}} The crew of Apollo 11 was assigned on January 9, 1969, as Armstrong, Collins, and Aldrin, with Lovell, Anders, and [[Fred Haise]] as the backup crew.{{sfn|Collins|2001|pp=312–313}}

According to [[Chris Kraft]], a March 1969 meeting among Slayton, George Low, [[Bob Gilruth]], and Kraft determined that Armstrong would be the first person on the Moon, in part because NASA management saw him as a person who did not have a large ego. A press conference on April 14, 1969, gave the design of the LM cabin as the reason for Armstrong's being first; the hatch opened inwards and to the right, making it difficult for the LM pilot, on the right-hand side, to exit first. At the time of their meeting, the four men did not know about the hatch consideration. The first knowledge of the meeting outside the small group came when Kraft wrote his book.{{sfn|Kraft|2001|pp=323–324}}{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=365–373}} Methods of circumventing this difficulty existed, but it is not known if these were considered at the time. Slayton added, "Secondly, just on a pure protocol basis, I figured the commander ought to be the first guy out{{nbsp}}... I changed it as soon as I found they had the time line that showed that. Bob Gilruth approved my decision."{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=160}}

==== Voyage to the Moon ====
A [[Saturn V]] rocket launched Apollo 11 from [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39A|Launch Complex 39A]] at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 [[Coordinated Universal Time|UTC]] (09:32:00 EDT local time).{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=92}} Armstrong's wife Janet and two sons watched from a yacht moored on the [[Banana River]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=2}} During the launch, Armstrong's heart rate peaked at 110{{nbsp}}beats per minute.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=410}} He found the first stage the loudest, much noisier than the Gemini{{nbsp}}8 Titan II launch. The Apollo command module was relatively roomy compared with the Gemini spacecraft. None of the Apollo 11 crew suffered [[space sickness]], as some members of previous crews had. Armstrong was especially glad about this, as he had been prone to [[motion sickness]] as a child and could experience [[nausea]] after long periods of [[aerobatics]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=411–412}}

[[File:Neil Armstrong.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Armstrong smiling in his space suit with the helmet off. He wears a headset and his eyes look slightly watery.|Armstrong in the lunar module after the completion of the [[extravehicular activity|EVA]]]]
Apollo 11's objective was to land safely on the Moon, rather than to touch down at a precise location. Three minutes into the lunar descent, Armstrong noted that craters were passing about two seconds too early, which meant the [[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] would probably touch down several miles (kilometres) beyond the planned landing zone.{{sfn|Smith|2005|p=11}} As the ''Eagle''{{'}}s landing [[radar]] acquired the surface, several computer error alarms sounded. The first was a code [[Jack Garman#1202|1202]] alarm, and even with their extensive training, neither Armstrong nor Aldrin knew what this code meant. They promptly received word from CAPCOM [[Charles Duke]] in Houston that the alarms were not a concern; the 1202 and 1201 alarms were caused by executive overflows in the [[Apollo Guidance Computer|lunar module guidance computer]]. In 2007, Aldrin said the overflows were caused by his own counter-checklist choice of leaving the docking radar on during the landing process, causing the computer to process unnecessary radar data. When it did not have enough time to execute all tasks, the computer dropped the lower-priority ones, triggering the alarms. Aldrin said he decided to leave the radar on in case an abort was necessary when re-docking with the Apollo command module; he did not realize it would cause the processing overflows.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=459–465}}
[[File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv|thumb|Armstrong lands the [[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] on the Moon, July 20, 1969.]]
When Armstrong noticed they were heading toward a landing area that seemed unsafe, he took manual control of the LM and attempted to find a safer area. This took longer than expected, and longer than most simulations had taken.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=199}} For this reason, Mission Control was concerned that the LM was running low on fuel.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=198}} On landing, Aldrin and Armstrong believed they had 40{{nbsp}}seconds of fuel left, including the 20{{nbsp}}seconds' worth which had to be saved in the event of an abort.{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=200}} During training, Armstrong had, on several occasions, landed with fewer than 15{{nbsp}}seconds of fuel; he was also confident the LM could survive a fall of up to {{convert|50|ft|m}}. Post-mission analysis showed that at touchdown there were 45 to 50{{nbsp}}seconds of propellant burn time left.{{sfn|Manned Spacecraft Center|1969|pp=9-23–9-24}}

The landing on the surface of the Moon occurred several seconds after 20:17:40 UTC on July 20, 1969.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Eric M. |title=The First Lunar Landing, time 109:45:40 |url=http://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |website=Apollo 11 Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225232200/https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |archive-date=December 25, 2017 }} That was the time of probe contact; the exact time of landing is difficult to determine, because Armstrong said the landing was "very gentle" and "It was hard to tell when we were on."</ref> One of three {{convert|67|in|cm|adj=on}} probes attached to three of the LM's four legs made contact with the surface, a panel light in the LM illuminated, and Aldrin called out, "Contact light." Armstrong shut the engine off and said, "Shutdown." As the LM settled onto the surface, Aldrin said, "Okay, engine stop"; then they both called out some post-landing checklist items. After a 10-second pause, Duke acknowledged the landing with, "We copy you down, ''Eagle''." Armstrong confirmed the landing to Mission Control and the world with the words, "Houston, [[Tranquility Base]] here. The ''Eagle'' has landed." Aldrin and Armstrong celebrated with a brisk handshake and pat on the back. They then returned to the checklist of contingency tasks, should an emergency liftoff become necessary.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Eric M. |title=The First Lunar Landing, time 1:02:45 |url=http://www.history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |access-date=November 30, 2007 |website=Apollo 11 Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |date=September 15, 2017 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171225232200/https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |archive-date=December 25, 2017 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Eric M. |title=Mission Transcripts, Apollo 11 AS11 PA0.pdf |url=https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/AS11_PAO.PDF |access-date=November 30, 2007 |website=Apollo 11 Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080917232517/http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/history/mission_trans/AS11_PAO.PDF |archive-date=September 17, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Eric M. |title=Apollo 11 Mission Commentary 7-20-69 CDT 15:15 – GET 102:43 – TAPE 307/1 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11transcript_pao.htm |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072819/https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11transcript_pao.htm |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |website=Apollo 11 Surface Journal |publisher=NASA}}</ref> After Armstrong confirmed touch down, Duke re-acknowledged, adding a comment about the flight crew's relief: "Roger, Tranquility. We copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We're breathing again. Thanks a lot."{{sfn|Chaikin|1994|p=200}} During the landing, Armstrong's heart rate ranged from 100 to 150{{nbsp}}beats per minute.{{sfn|Manned Spacecraft Center|1969|p=12-1}}

==== First Moon walk ====
{{See also|Apollo 11#Lunar surface operations}}
[[File:Apollo 11 Landing - first steps on the moon.ogv|thumb|right|Armstrong describes the lunar surface.]]
{{Listen
| filename     = Frase de Neil Armstrong.ogg
| title        = "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind"
| description  = 
| format       = [[Ogg]]
}}
The flight plan called for a crew rest period before leaving the module, but Armstrong asked for this to be moved to earlier in the evening, [[Central Time Zone (North America)|Houston time]]. When he and Aldrin were ready to go outside, ''Eagle'' was depressurized, the hatch was opened, and Armstrong made his way down the ladder.{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=215}} At the bottom of the ladder, while standing on a [[Apollo Lunar Module|Lunar Module]] landing pad, Armstrong said, "I'm going to step off the LM now". He turned and set his left boot on the lunar surface at 02:56 [[UTC]] July 21, 1969,{{sfn|Harland|1999|p=23}} then said, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."<ref name="Snopes">{{cite web |last1=Mikkelson |first1=Barbara |first2=David |last2=Mikkelson |title=One Small Misstep: Neil Armstrong's First Words on the Moon |date=October 2006 |website=Snopes.com |url=http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp |access-date=September 19, 2009}}</ref> The exact time of Armstrong's first step on the Moon is unclear.<ref>{{cite web | last=Stern | first=Jacob | title=One Small Controversy About Neil Armstrong's Giant Leap | website=[[The Atlantic]] | date=July 23, 2019 | url=https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/07/tiny-imprecision-heart-apollo-11/594556/ | access-date=July 25, 2019 | quote=When he tried to match the air-to-ground transcript to an audiovisual recording, he found that the transcript was behind—and that one of the records had to be wrong about the time of Armstrong's first step.}}</ref>

Armstrong prepared his famous [[epigram]] on his own.<ref name="Plimpton" /> In a post-flight press conference, he said that he chose the words "just prior to leaving the LM."<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Post Flight Press Conference, 16 September 1969 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/FirstLunarLanding/ch-7.html |publisher=NASA |access-date=July 24, 2015 |quote=Yes, I did think about it. It was not extemporaneous, neither was it planned. It evolved during the conduct of the flight and I decided what the words would be while we were on the lunar surface just prior to leaving the LM. |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015011/http://history.nasa.gov/ap11ann/FirstLunarLanding/ch-7.html |archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref> In a 1983 interview in ''[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]]'' magazine, he explained to [[George Plimpton]]: "I always knew there was a good chance of being able to return to Earth, but I thought the chances of a successful touch down on the moon surface were about even money—fifty–fifty{{nbsp}}... Most people don't realize how difficult the mission was. So it didn't seem to me there was much point in thinking of something to say if we'd have to abort landing."<ref name="Plimpton">{{cite magazine |last=Plimpton |first=George |author-link=George Plimpton |title=Neil Armstrong's Famous First Words |magazine=[[Esquire (magazine)|Esquire]] |date=December 1983 |pages=113–118}}</ref> In 2012, his brother Dean Armstrong said that Neil showed him a draft of the line months before the launch.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Gray |first1=Richard |title=Neil Armstrong's family reveal origins of 'one small step' line |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9770712/Neil-Armstrongs-family-reveal-origins-of-one-small-step-line.html |access-date=July 24, 2015 |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |date=December 30, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701041241/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9770712/Neil-Armstrongs-family-reveal-origins-of-one-small-step-line.html |archive-date=July 1, 2015}}</ref> Historian [[Andrew Chaikin]], who interviewed Armstrong in 1988 for his book ''[[A Man on the Moon]]'', disputed that Armstrong claimed to have conceived the line during the mission.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Chaikin |first1=Andrew |title=Neil Armstrong Didn't Lie About 'One Small Step' Moon Speech, Historian Says |url=http://www.space.com/19136-neil-armstrong-moon-speech-truth.html |website=[[Space.com]] |access-date=July 24, 2015 |date=January 4, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724160705/http://www.space.com/19136-neil-armstrong-moon-speech-truth.html |archive-date=July 24, 2015 |publisher=Purch}}</ref>

Recordings of Armstrong's transmission do not provide evidence for the indefinite article "a" before "man", though NASA and Armstrong insisted for years that static obscured it. Armstrong stated he would never make such a mistake, but after repeated listenings to recordings, he eventually conceded he must have dropped the "a".<ref name="Snopes" /> He later said he "would hope that history would grant me leeway for dropping the syllable and understand that it was certainly intended, even if it was not said—although it might actually have been".{{sfn|Nickell|2008|p=175}} There have since been claims and counter-claims about whether acoustic analysis of the recording reveals the presence of the missing "a";<ref name="Snopes" /><ref>{{cite news |last=Goddard |first=Jacqui |title=One small word is one giant sigh of relief for Armstrong |newspaper=[[The Times]] |location=London |date=October 2, 2006 |url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/science/article/one-small-word-is-one-giant-sigh-of-relief-for-armstrong-8ffrjd0s6wz |access-date=December 31, 2012 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> [[Peter Shann Ford]], an Australian computer programmer, conducted a digital audio analysis and claims that Armstrong did say "a man", but the "a" was inaudible due to the limitations of communications technology of the time.<ref name="Snopes" /><ref>{{cite web |last=Ford |first=Peter Shann |title=Electronic Evidence and Physiological Reasoning Identifying the Elusive Vowel "a" in Neil Armstrong's Statement on First Stepping onto the Lunar Surface |website=collectSPACE|date=September 17, 2006 |url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-100306a.html |access-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927015424/http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-100306a.html |archive-date=September 27, 2007}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Software Finds Missing 'a' in Armstrong's Moon Quote |publisher=[[CNN]] |date=October 1, 2006 |url=http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/30/moon.quote.ap/index.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004151135/http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/09/30/moon.quote.ap/index.html |archive-date=October 4, 2006 |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> Ford and [[James R. Hansen]], Armstrong's authorized biographer, presented these findings to Armstrong and NASA representatives, who conducted their own analysis.<ref>{{cite web|last=Smith |first=Veronica |agency=Agence France-Presse |title=Armstrong's Moon landing speech rewritten |magazine=[[Cosmos (Australian magazine)|Cosmos]] |date=October 2, 2006 |url=http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/717 |access-date=August 29, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070831202457/http://www.cosmosmagazine.com/node/717 |archive-date=August 31, 2007}}</ref> Armstrong found Ford's analysis "persuasive".<ref>{{cite news |last=Carreau |first=Mark |title=High-tech analysis may rewrite space history |newspaper=[[Houston Chronicle]] |date=September 29, 2006 |url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4225505.html |access-date=September 30, 2006 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061004192255/http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4225505.html |archive-date=October 4, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{cite news | title=Hear what Neil Armstrong really said on the moon | last=Carreau | first=Mark |newspaper=Houston Chronicle | date=September 30, 2006 | url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Hear-what-Neil-Armstrong-really-said-on-the-moon-1862496.php | access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref> Linguists [[David Beaver]] and [[Mark Liberman]] wrote of their skepticism of Ford's claims on the blog [[Language Log]].<ref>[[Language Log]]s:
* {{cite web |first=David |last=Beaver |author-link=David Beaver |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003630.html |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |title=One small step backwards |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072803/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003630.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |ref=none}} (including audio)
* {{cite web |first=Mark |last=Liberman |author-link=Mark Liberman |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003632.html |title=One 75-millisecond step before a "man" |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072810/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003632.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017 |ref=none}}
* {{cite web |first=David |last=Beaver |author-link=David Beaver |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003634.html |title=Armstrong's abbreviated article: the smoking gun? |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072811/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003634.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017|ref=none}}
* {{cite web |first=David |last=Beaver |author-link=David Beaver |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003635.html |title=Armstrong's abbreviated article: notes from the expert |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072827/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/%7Emyl/languagelog/archives/003635.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017|ref=none}}
* {{cite web |first=David |last=Beaver |author-link=David Beaver |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003639.html |title=First Korean on the moon! |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072825/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003639.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017|ref=none}}
* {{cite web |first=Mark |last=Liberman |author-link=Mark Liberman |website=Language Log |url=http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003645.html |title=What Neil Armstrong said |publisher=University of Pennsylvania |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171108072829/http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003645.html |archive-date=November 8, 2017|ref=none}}</ref> A 2016 peer-reviewed study again concluded Armstrong had included the article.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Baese-Berk |first1=M. M. |last2=Dilley |first2=L. C. |last3=Schmidt |first3=S. |last4=Morrill |first4=T. H. |last5=Pitt |first5=M. A. |year=2016 |title=Revisiting Neil Armstrong's Moon-Landing Quote: Implications for Speech Perception, Function Word Reduction, and Acoustic Ambiguity |journal=PLOS ONE |volume=11 |number=9 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0155975 |pmid=27603209 |pmc=5014323 |bibcode=2016PLoSO..1155975B|doi-access=free  |issn = 1932-6203}}</ref> NASA's transcript continues to show the "a" in parentheses.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Eric M. |title=One Small Step, time 109:24:23 |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |access-date=December 18, 2012 |website=Apollo 11 Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130102060848/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11.step.html |archive-date=January 2, 2013}}</ref>

When Armstrong made his proclamation, [[Voice of America]] was rebroadcast live by the [[BBC]] and many other stations worldwide. An estimated 530{{nbsp}}million people viewed the event,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html |title=Apollo 11 Mission Overview |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180209204039/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html |archive-date=February 9, 2018 |date=April 17, 2015}}</ref> 20 percent out of a world population of approximately 3.6{{nbsp}}billion.<ref>{{cite news |last=Stuckey |first=Alex |date=October 29, 2018 |title='Giant leap' for space collectibles: Neil Armstrong's personal collection goes on auction block |url=https://www.chron.com/news/nation-world/article/Giant-leap-for-space-collectibles-Neil-13345916.php |newspaper=Houston Chronicle |agency=Associated Press |access-date=May 26, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DVD/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2017_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx |publisher=United Nations Population Division |title=Total Population—Both Sexes |access-date=April 7, 2018 |format=xlsx |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730155936/https://esa.un.org/unpd/wpp/DVD/Files/1_Indicators%20(Standard)/EXCEL_FILES/1_Population/WPP2017_POP_F01_1_TOTAL_POPULATION_BOTH_SEXES.xlsx |archive-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref>{{nbsp}}

{{Quote box
| quote = Q: Did you misspeak?

A: There isn't any way of knowing.

Q: Several sources say you did.

A: I mean, there isn't any way of ''my'' knowing. When I listen to the tape, I can't hear the 'a', but that doesn't mean it wasn't there, because that was the fastest VOX ever built. There was no mike-switch — it was a [[Voice-operated switch|voice-operated key or VOX]]. In a helmet you find you lose a lot of syllables. Sometimes a short syllable like 'a' might not be transmitted. However, when I listen to it, I can't hear it. But the 'a' is implied, so I'm happy if they just put it in parentheses.
| source = ''[[Omni (magazine)|Omni]]'', June 1982, p. 126
}}

[[File:As11-40-5886.jpg|thumb|left|Armstrong on the Moon|alt=A grainy picture from behind of a human figure in white space suit and backpack standing in front of the Lunar Module on the surface of the Moon. A landing leg is visible and the U.S. flag on the descent stage.]]
About 19{{nbsp}}minutes after Armstrong's first step, Aldrin joined him on the surface, becoming the second human to walk on the Moon. They began their tasks of investigating how easily a person could operate on the lunar surface. Armstrong unveiled a plaque commemorating the flight, and with Aldrin, [[Flag planting|planted]] the [[Lunar Flag Assembly|flag of the United States]]. Although Armstrong had wanted the flag to be draped on the flagpole,{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=212}} it was decided to use a metal rod to hold it horizontally.{{sfn|Johnson|2008|p=60}} However, the rod did not fully extend, leaving the flag with a slightly wavy appearance, as if there were a breeze.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=503–504}} Shortly after the flag planting, President [[Richard Nixon]] spoke to them by telephone from his office. He spoke for about a minute, after which Armstrong responded for about thirty seconds.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=505–506}} In the Apollo 11 photographic record, there are only five images of Armstrong partly shown or reflected. The mission was planned to the minute, with the majority of photographic tasks performed by Armstrong with the single [[Hasselblad]] camera.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.5886.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110728042723/http://next.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.5886.html |archive-date=July 28, 2011 |date=July 28, 2011 |title=AS11-40-5886 |last1=Jones |first1=Eric M. |website=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |url-status=dead |access-date=May 13, 2011}}</ref>

After helping to set up the [[Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package|Early Apollo Scientific Experiment Package]], Armstrong went for a walk to what is now known as East Crater, {{convert|65|yd|m}} east of the LM, the greatest distance traveled from the LM on the mission. His final task was to remind Aldrin to leave a small package of memorial items to Soviet [[List of cosmonauts|cosmonauts]] [[Yuri Gagarin]] and [[Vladimir Komarov]], and Apollo{{nbsp}}1 astronauts Grissom, White and Chaffee.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jones |first1=Eric M. |last2=Glover |first2=Ken |title=EASEP Deployment and Closeout |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |website=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=March 28, 2014 |at=111:36:38 |year=1995 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140225025455/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.clsout.html |archive-date=February 25, 2014}}</ref> The Apollo 11 EVA lasted two and a half hours.<ref name="ApolloSum" /> Each of the subsequent five landings was allotted a progressively longer EVA period; the crew of [[Apollo 17]] spent over 22{{nbsp}}hours exploring the lunar surface.<ref name="ApolloSum">{{cite web |title=Summary Data on Apollo Missions |publisher=NASA |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4214/app5.html |access-date=May 20, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120117134054/http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4214/app5.html |archive-date=January 17, 2012}}</ref> In a 2010 interview, Armstrong explained that NASA limited their Moon walk because they were unsure how the [[space suit]]s would cope with the Moon's extremely high temperature.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |title=Neil Armstrong Explains His Famous Apollo 11 Moonwalk |website=Space.com |date=December 10, 2010 |access-date=October 14, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130802234446/http://www.space.com/10469-neil-armstrong-explains-famous-apollo-11-moonwalk.html |archive-date=August 2, 2013}}</ref>

==== Return to Earth ====
[[File:President Nixon welcomes the Apollo 11 astronauts aboard the U.S.S. Hornet.jpg|thumb|alt=The three crew members smiling at the President through the glass window of their metal quarantine chamber. Below the window is the Presidential Seal, and above it is stenciled on a wooden board "HORNET + 3". President Nixon is standing at a microphone, also smiling. He has dark crinkly hair and a light gray suit.|The Apollo 11 crew and President [[Richard Nixon]] during the post-mission quarantine period]]
After they re-entered the LM, the hatch was closed and sealed. While preparing for liftoff, Armstrong and Aldrin discovered that, in their bulky space suits, they had broken the ignition switch for the ascent engine; using part of a pen, they pushed in the circuit breaker to start the launch sequence.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=489–490}} The ''Eagle'' then continued to its rendezvous in lunar orbit, where it docked with ''[[Command module Columbia|Columbia]]'', the command and service module. The three astronauts returned to Earth and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, to be picked up by the {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/nmc/spacecraft/display.action?id=1969-059A |title=Apollo 11 Command and Service Module (CSM) |publisher=NASA |access-date=August 26, 2012 }}</ref>

After being released from an 18-day quarantine to ensure that they had not picked up any infections or diseases from the Moon, the crew was feted across the United States and around the world as part of a 38-day "Giant Leap" tour.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27494178/the_logan_daily_news/ |title=Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour |agency=Associated Press |date=September 29, 1969 |page=1 |location=Logan, Ohio |newspaper=Logan Daily News |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[File:Apollo 11 ticker tape parade 1.jpg|thumb|New York City ticker tape parade, August 13, 1969]]
The tour began on August 13, when the three astronauts spoke and rode in [[ticker-tape parade]]s in their honor in New York and Chicago, with an estimated six million attendees.<ref name="LADinner">{{cite web |last=Nixon|first=Richard|title=Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo 11 Astronauts |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts |website=The American Presidency Project|editor-last=Peters |editor-first=Gerhard |editor2-last=Woolley |editor2-first=John T.|publisher=University of California, Santa Barbara |access-date=July 20, 2019 |date=August 13, 1969}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531303/the_evening_sun/|title=President Offers Toast to 'Three Brave Men'|newspaper=The Evening Sun|date=August 14, 1969|page=1|location=Baltimore, Maryland|via=Newspapers.com|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> On the same evening an official [[state dinner]] was held in Los Angeles to celebrate the flight, attended by members of Congress, 44{{nbsp}}governors, the [[Chief Justice of the United States]], and ambassadors from 83{{nbsp}}nations. President Nixon and Vice President Agnew presented each astronaut with a [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]].<ref name="LADinner" /><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/|title=Astronauts Awed by the Acclaim|newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser|page=1|date=August 14, 1969|last1=Smith|first1=Merriman|agency=United Press International|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

After the tour Armstrong took part in [[Bob Hope]]'s 1969 [[USO]] show, primarily to Vietnam.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=580}} In May 1970, Armstrong traveled to the Soviet Union to present a talk at the 13th annual conference of the International [[Committee on Space Research]]; after arriving in [[Leningrad]] from Poland, he traveled to Moscow where he met [[Premier of the Soviet Union|Premier]] [[Alexei Kosygin]]. Armstrong was the first westerner to see the supersonic [[Tupolev Tu-144]] and was given a tour of the [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center]], which he described as "a bit Victorian in nature".{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=583}} At the end of the day, he was surprised to view a delayed video of the launch of [[Soyuz 9]] as it had not occurred to Armstrong that the mission was taking place, even though Valentina Tereshkova had been his host and her husband, [[Andriyan Nikolayev]], was on board.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=582–584}}

== Life after Apollo ==
[[File:RIAN archive 837790 Valentina Tereshkova and Neil Armstrong.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Valentina Tereshkova]], the first woman in space, presenting a badge to Neil Armstrong, [[Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center|Star City]], Soviet Union, June 1970|alt=A black-and-white image. Armstrong has his left side facing us. He is holding a book and wearing civilian formal dress. A woman with bouffant hair is pinning a badge to his lapel. Two men in Soviet uniform and one in civilian garb are watching. On the wall in the background is a large photo of a cosmonaut. In the foreground on a table is a model of two spacecraft docking.]]

=== Teaching ===
Shortly after Apollo 11, Armstrong stated that he did not plan to fly in space again.<ref>{{cite news |first=Christopher |last=Riley |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |url=https://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/09/apollo-astronauts-walking-moon |title=The Moon Walkers: Twelve Men Who Have Visited Another World |date=July 10, 2009 |access-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140204055219/http://www.theguardian.com/science/2009/jul/09/apollo-astronauts-walking-moon |archive-date=February 4, 2014}}</ref> He was appointed Deputy Associate Administrator for Aeronautics for the Office of Advanced Research and Technology at [[DARPA|ARPA]], served in the position for a year, then resigned from it and NASA in 1971.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=584}} He accepted a teaching position in the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the [[University of Cincinnati]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Armstrong Remembered |url=http://ceas.uc.edu/about/neil-armstrong-remembered.html |website=University of Cincinnati |access-date=November 28, 2015 |language=en-US |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151208165113/http://ceas.uc.edu/about/neil-armstrong-remembered.html |archive-date=December 8, 2015}}</ref> having chosen Cincinnati over other universities, including his ''alma mater'' Purdue, because Cincinnati had a small aerospace department,{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=590}} and said he hoped the faculty there would not be annoyed that he came straight into a professorship with only a USC master's degree.<ref>{{cite web |title=Apollo 11 Crew Information |website=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |last1=Jones |first1=Eric M. |publisher=NASA |date=November 1, 2005 |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.crew.html |access-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070828070600/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.crew.html |archive-date=August 28, 2007 }}</ref> He began his master's degree while stationed at Edwards years before, and completed it after Apollo 11 by presenting a report on various aspects of Apollo, instead of a thesis on the simulation of hypersonic flight.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=590–594}}

At Cincinnati, Armstrong was University Professor of Aerospace Engineering. He took a heavy teaching load, taught core classes, and created two graduate-level classes: aircraft design and experimental flight mechanics. He was considered a good teacher, and a tough grader. His research activities during this time did not involve his work at NASA, as he did not want to give the appearance of favoritism; he later regretted the decision. After teaching for eight years, Armstrong resigned in 1980. When the university changed from an independent municipal university to a state school, bureaucracy increased. He did not want to be a part of the faculty collective bargaining group, so he decided to teach half-time. According to Armstrong, he had the same amount of work but received half his salary. In 1979, less than 10% of his income came from his university salary. Employees at the university did not know why he left.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=590–594}}

=== NASA commissions ===
In 1970, after an explosion aboard [[Apollo 13]] aborted its lunar landing, Armstrong was part of [[Edgar Cortright]]'s investigation of the mission. He produced a detailed chronology of the flight. He determined that a 28-volt thermostat switch in an oxygen tank, which was supposed to have been replaced with a 65-volt version, led to the explosion. Cortright's report recommended the entire tank be redesigned at a cost of $40{{nbsp}}million. Many NASA managers, including Armstrong, opposed the recommendation, since only the thermostat switch had caused the problem. They lost the argument, and the tanks were redesigned.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=600–603}}

In 1986, President [[Ronald Reagan]] asked Armstrong to join the [[Rogers Commission Report|Rogers Commission]] investigating the [[Space Shuttle Challenger disaster|Space Shuttle ''Challenger'' disaster]]. Armstrong was made vice chairman of the commission and held private interviews with contacts he had developed over the years to help determine the cause of the disaster. He helped limit the committee's recommendations to nine, believing that if there were too many, NASA would not act on them.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=610–616}}

[[File:Apollo 11 - Crew at the White House.jpg|thumb|Michael Collins, President [[George W. Bush]], Neil Armstrong, and Buzz Aldrin during celebrations of the 35th anniversary of the Apollo 11 flight, July 21, 2004]]
Armstrong was appointed to a fourteen-member commission by President Reagan to develop a plan for American civilian spaceflight in the 21st century. The commission was chaired by former NASA administrator Dr. [[Thomas O. Paine]], with whom Armstrong had worked during the Apollo program. The group published a book titled ''Pioneering the Space Frontier: The Report on the National Commission on Space'', recommending a permanent lunar base by 2006, and sending people to Mars by 2015. The recommendations were largely ignored, overshadowed by the ''Challenger'' disaster.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=609–610}}

Armstrong and his wife attended the memorial service for the victims of the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]] in 2003, at the invitation of President [[George W. Bush]].{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=616–617}}

=== Business activities ===
After Armstrong retired from NASA in 1971, he acted as a spokesman for several businesses. The first company to successfully approach him was [[Chrysler]], for whom he appeared in advertising starting in January 1979. Armstrong thought they had a strong engineering division, and they were in financial difficulty. He later acted as a spokesman for other American companies, including General Time Corporation and the Bankers Association of America.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=595}} He acted as a spokesman for only American companies.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=596}}

In addition to his duties as a spokesman, he also served on the board of directors of several companies. The first company board Armstrong joined was [[Gates Learjet]], chairing their technical committee. He flew their new and experimental jets and even set a climb and altitude record for business jets. Armstrong became a member of [[Cincinnati Gas & Electric Company]]'s board in 1973. They were interested in nuclear power and wanted to increase the company's technical competence. He served on the board of [[Taft Broadcasting]], also based in Cincinnati. Armstrong joined the board of solid rocket booster [[Thiokol]] in 1989, after previously serving on the Rogers Commission which found that the [[Space Shuttle]] ''Challenger'' was destroyed due to a defect in the Thiokol-manufactured solid rocket boosters. When Armstrong left the University of Cincinnati, he became the chairman of Cardwell International Ltd., a company that manufactured drilling rigs. He served on additional aerospace boards, first [[United Airlines]] in 1978, and later [[Eaton Corporation]] in 1980. He was asked to chair the board of directors for a subsidiary of Eaton, AIL Systems. He chaired the board through the company's 2000 merger with [[EDO Corporation]], until his retirement in 2002.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=596–598}}<ref>{{cite press release |title=EDO Corporation CEO James M. Smith to become Chairman upon retirement of Neil A. Armstrong |publisher=EDO Corporation |date=February 8, 2000 |url=http://www.edocorp.com/pr2002/02r0208.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061017094755/http://www.edocorp.com/pr2002/02r0208.htm |archive-date=October 17, 2006 |access-date=July 1, 2006}}</ref>

=== North Pole and Ecuador expeditions ===
In 1976 Stanley Hall of Scotland arranged one of the most expensive, large scale cave explorations in modern history, to investigate [[Cueva de los Tayos]] in Ecuador. For the expedition, over a hundred people were recruited, including members of the Scottish [[Black Watch]] and the [[Royal Highland Fusiliers]] regiment, Ecuadorian military personnel, and various experts in different fields, including Armstrong, then a professor of aerospace engineering at the [[University of Cincinnati]], as Honorary President of the expedition.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Colavito |first1=Jason |title=Remembering Neil Armstrong's Brush with Ancient Astronauts |url=https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/remembering-neil-armstrongs-brush-with-ancient-astronauts |website=JASON COLAVITO |access-date=2 May 2022 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Judson |first1=David |title=Los Tayos Expedition, Ecuador : July-August 1976 |journal=British Cave Research Association  |date=Nov 1976 |volume=14 |pages=26–30 }}</ref>

In 1985, professional expedition leader Mike Dunn organized a trip to take men he deemed the "greatest explorers" to the North Pole. The group included Armstrong, [[Edmund Hillary]], [[Peter Hillary|Hillary's son Peter]], [[Steve Fossett]], and [[Patrick Morrow]]. They arrived at the Pole on April 6, 1985. He did not inform the media of the trip, preferring to keep it private.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=609}}

=== Public profile ===
[[File:Neil Armstrong, 1999.jpg|thumb|upright|Armstrong in 1999]]
Armstrong's family described him as a "reluctant American hero".<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The National (Abu Dhabi)|The National]] |title=Neil Armstrong, first man on the Moon, dead at 82 |date=August 26, 2012 |url=https://www.thenational.ae/uae/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-the-moon-dead-at-82-1.607011 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304172524/https://www.thenational.ae/uae/neil-armstrong-first-man-on-the-moon-dead-at-82-1.607011 |archive-date=March 4, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/content/neil-armstrong-praised-as-a-reluctant-american-hero |date=August 30, 2012 |title=Neil Armstrong Praised as a Reluctant American Hero |first=Bob |last=Granath |publisher=NASA |access-date=July 8, 2018 |archive-date=September 2, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180902042741/https://www.nasa.gov/content/neil-armstrong-praised-as-a-reluctant-american-hero/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Neil Armstrong a 'reluctant American hero': family |newspaper=[[The Globe and Mail]] |date=August 25, 2012 |first=Olivia |last=Hampton |access-date=July 8, 2018 |url=https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/neil-armstrong-a-reluctant-american-hero-family/article4499479/}}</ref> He kept a low profile later in his life, leading to the belief that he was a recluse.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2012/08/26/opinion/seymour-armstrong-appreciation/index.html |title=Neil Armstrong, a hero who shunned fame |last1=Seymour |first1=Gene |publisher=CNN|date=August 27, 2012|access-date=June 9, 2018}}</ref><ref name="wapo1">{{Cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/19/AR2009071901771.html |title=Neil Armstrong Took One Small Step, Then Made a Giant Retreat Into Private Life |last1=Farhi |first1=Paul |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |date=July 20, 2009|access-date=June 8, 2018}}</ref> Recalling Armstrong's humility, [[John Glenn]], the first American to orbit Earth, told CNN: "[Armstrong] didn't feel that he should be out huckstering himself. He was a humble person, and that's the way he remained after his lunar flight, as well as before."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |title=Tributes paid to Neil Armstrong, the humblest of American heroes |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9500380/Tributes-paid-to-Neil-Armstrong-the-humblest-of-American-heroes.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220110/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/9500380/Tributes-paid-to-Neil-Armstrong-the-humblest-of-American-heroes.html |archive-date=January 10, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |date=August 26, 2013 |access-date=July 8, 2018}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Armstrong turned down most requests for interviews and public appearances. Michael Collins said in his book ''Carrying the Fire'' that when Armstrong moved to a dairy farm to become a college professor, it was like he "retreated to his castle and pulled up the drawbridge". Armstrong found this amusing, and said, "...{{nbsp}}those of us that live out in the hinterlands think that people that live inside the [[Capital Beltway|Beltway]] are the ones that have the problems."{{sfn|Shapiro|2012|pp=9, 267, 268}}

Andrew Chaikin says in ''A Man on the Moon'' that Armstrong kept a low profile but was not a recluse, citing his participation in interviews, advertisements for Chrysler, and hosting a cable television series.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=568–570}} Between 1991 and 1993, he hosted ''[[First Flights with Neil Armstrong]]'', an [[aviation history]] documentary series on [[A&E (TV channel)|A&E]].{{sfn|Shapiro|2012|pp=9, 267, 268}} In 2010, Armstrong voiced the character of Dr. Jack Morrow in ''[[Quantum Quest: A Cassini Space Odyssey]]'',<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/2010/09/quantum-quest/ |title=NASA Footage Sets Scene for Quantum Quest Movie |magazine=Wired |first=Hugh |last=Hart |date=March 9, 2010 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301224818/https://www.wired.com/2010/09/quantum-quest/ |archive-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> an animated educational sci-fi adventure film initiated by JPL/NASA through a grant from Jet Propulsion Lab.<ref>{{cite web |title=Quantum Quest |publisher=jupiter9productions.com |url=http://jupiter9productions.com/news.aspx |access-date=October 8, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130108191010/http://jupiter9productions.com/News.aspx |archive-date=January 8, 2013}}</ref>

Armstrong guarded the use of his name, image, and famous quote. When it was launched in 1981, [[MTV]] wanted to use his quote in its [[station identification]], with the American flag replaced with the MTV logo, but he refused the use of his voice and likeness.<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Anson |first=Robert Sam |title=Birth of an MTV Nation |magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]] |date=November 2000 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/11/mtv200011?printable=true&currentPage=allPittman |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141227164327/http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2000/11/mtv200011?printable=true&currentPage=allPittman |archive-date=December 27, 2014}}</ref> He sued [[Hallmark Cards]] in 1994, when they used his name, and a recording of the "one small step" quote, in a Christmas ornament without his permission. The lawsuit was settled out of court for an undisclosed sum, which Armstrong donated to Purdue.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=628}}<ref>{{Cite news |title=Neil Armstrong, Hallmark Settle |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]] |date=December 2, 1995 |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1995/12/02/neil-armstrong-hallmark-settle/ |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110103194725/http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1995-12-02/business/9512020040_1_neil-armstrong-hallmark-cards-ornament |archive-date=January 3, 2011}}</ref>

For many years, he wrote letters congratulating new Eagle Scouts on their accomplishment, but decided to quit the practice in the 1990s because he felt the letters should be written by people who knew the scout. (In 2003, he received 950{{nbsp}}congratulation requests.) This contributed to the myth of his reclusiveness.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|pp=622–623}} Armstrong used to autograph everything except [[first day cover]]s. Around 1993, he found out his signatures were being sold online, and that most of them were forgeries, and stopped giving autographs.<ref name="wapo1" />

== Personal life ==
[[File:Neil Armstrong at 50th anniversary of John Glenn's first spaceflight.jpg|thumb|left|Armstrong speaking in February 2012, six months before his death, on the 50th anniversary of [[John Glenn]]'s first spaceflight|alt=An elderly but fit-looking Armstrong in mid-speech. He is wearing a dark suit, a white shirt and a pale blue tie. He holds up his left hand and touches the thumb to the middle finger.]]
Some former astronauts, including Glenn and [[Apollo 17]]'s [[Harrison Schmitt]], sought political careers after leaving NASA. Armstrong was approached by groups from both the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] and [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] parties but declined the offers. He supported [[states' rights]] and opposed the U.S. acting as the "[[Global policeman|world's policeman]]".{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=600–601}}

When Armstrong applied at a local [[Methodist]] church to lead a Boy Scout troop in the late 1950s, he gave his religious affiliation as "[[deist]]".{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=33}} His mother later said that his religious views caused her grief and distress in later life, as she was a Christian.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=35}} Upon his return from the Moon, Armstrong gave a speech in front of the [[U.S. Congress]] in which he thanked them for giving him the opportunity to see some of the "grandest views of the Creator".<ref>Congressional Record (Bound Edition). (September 16–22, 1969.) Volume 115. Part 19. p.25611. US Government Printing Office.("Joint Meeting of the Two Houses of Congress to Receive the Apollo 11 Astronauts". September 16, 1969)</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=575}} In the early 1980s, he was the subject of a hoax claiming that he converted to [[Islam]] after hearing the [[adhan|call to prayer]] while walking on the Moon. Indonesian singer Suhaemi wrote a song called "Gema Suara Adzan di Bulan" ("The Resonant Sound of the Call to Prayer on the Moon") which described Armstrong's supposed conversion, and the song was widely discussed by [[Jakarta]] news outlets in 1983.{{sfn|Abramson|2004|p=93}} Similar hoax stories were seen in Egypt and Malaysia. In March 1983, the [[United States Department of State|U.S. State Department]] responded by issuing a message to embassies and consulates in Muslim countries saying that Armstrong had not converted to Islam.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=630–631}} The hoax surfaced occasionally for the next three decades. Part of the confusion arose from the similarity between the names of the country of Lebanon, which has a majority Muslim population, and Armstrong's longtime residence in [[Lebanon, Ohio]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=630–631}}

In 1972, Armstrong visited the Scottish town of [[Langholm]], the traditional seat of Clan Armstrong. He was made the first [[Freedom of the City|freeman]] of the burgh, and happily declared the town his home.<ref>{{cite news |last=Johnston |first=Willie |title=Recalling Moon man's 'muckle' leap |work=BBC News |date=July 20, 2009 |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8158762.stm |access-date=July 20, 2009 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090720100435/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/8158762.stm |archive-date=July 20, 2009}}</ref> To entertain the crowd, the [[Justice of the Peace]] read from an unrepealed archaic 400-year-old law that required him to hang any Armstrong found in the town.{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=13}}

Armstrong flew light aircraft for pleasure. He enjoyed [[Glider (sailplane)|gliders]] and before the Moon flight had earned a gold badge with two diamonds from the [[FAI Gliding Commission|International Gliding Commission]]. He continued to fly engineless aircraft well into his 70s.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.evergreensoaring.info/content/neil-armstrong-and-pickle|title=Neil Armstrong and the Pickle |publisher=Evergreen Soaring|access-date=July 6, 2019}}</ref>

While working on his farm in November 1978, Armstrong jumped off the back of his grain truck and caught his wedding ring in its wheel, tearing the tip off his left ring finger. He collected the severed tip, packed it in ice, and had surgeons reattach it at a nearby hospital in [[Louisville, Kentucky]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|p=608}} In February 1991, he suffered a mild heart attack while skiing with friends at [[Aspen, Colorado]].{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=639–640}}

Armstrong and his first wife, Janet, separated in 1990 and divorced in 1994 after 38 years of marriage.<ref>{{Cite magazine |url=https://slate.com/culture/2018/10/first-man-fact-vs-fiction-neil-armstrong-movie-daughter-bracelet.html |title=What's Fact and What's Fiction in First Man, the New Neil Armstrong Movie |last=Stein |first=Ellin |magazine=[[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] |date=October 15, 2018|access-date=October 21, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Schorn |first=Daniel |title=Being The First Man On The Moon |publisher=CBS News |date=July 2, 2006 |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/being-the-first-man-on-the-moon/ |access-date=January 9, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101013013459/http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/11/03/60minutes/main1008288_page3.shtml |archive-date=October 13, 2010}}</ref> He met his second wife, Carol Held Knight, at a golf tournament in 1992, when they were seated together at breakfast. She said little to Armstrong, but he called her two weeks later to ask what she was doing. She replied that she was cutting down a cherry tree, and he arrived at her house 35 minutes later to help. They were married in Ohio on June 12, 1994, and had a second ceremony at [[San Ysidro Ranch]] in California. They lived in [[Indian Hill, Ohio]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Johnston |first1=John |last2=Amrhein |first2=Saundra |last3=Thompson |first3=Richelle |title=Neil Armstrong, Reluctant Hero |date=July 18, 1999 |newspaper=[[The Cincinnati Enquirer]] |url=http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/07/18/loc_neil_armstrong_the.html |access-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-date=May 18, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200518093111/http://www.enquirer.com/editions/1999/07/18/loc_neil_armstrong_the.html/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>{{sfn|Hansen|2005|pp=643–645}} Through his marriage to Carol, he was the father-in-law of future [[New York Mets]] general manager [[Brodie Van Wagenen]].

In May 2005, Armstrong became involved in a legal dispute with Mark Sizemore, his barber of 20{{nbsp}}years. After cutting Armstrong's hair, Sizemore sold some of it to a collector for $3,000 without Armstrong's knowledge or permission.<ref>{{cite news |title=Armstrong, barber in fight over locks |newspaper=[[Dayton Daily News]] |date=June 1, 2005 |url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11945915.html |access-date=May 17, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106001601/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P2-11945915.html |archive-date=November 6, 2012}}</ref> Armstrong threatened legal action against Sizemore unless he returned the hair or donated the proceeds to a charity of Armstrong's choosing. Sizemore, unable to retrieve the hair, donated the proceeds to charity.{{sfn|Hansen|2012|p=628}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/original-moonwalker-how-neil-armstrong-kept-his-feet-on-the-ground-despite-becoming-the-most-famous-1727870.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/original-moonwalker-how-neil-armstrong-kept-his-feet-on-the-ground-despite-becoming-the-most-famous-1727870.html |archive-date=June 18, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Original Moonwalker: How Neil Armstrong kept his feet on the ground despite becoming the most famous man on Earth |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=July 2, 2009 |access-date=July 8, 2018}}</ref>

== Illness and death ==
[[File:Neil Armstrong family memorial service (201208310014HQ).jpg|thumb|Photograph of Armstrong as a boy at his family memorial service in [[Indian Hill, Ohio]], near Cincinnati, on August 31, 2012|alt=A color image showing a black-and-white photo of a young boy. The picture stands on a small round table beside a vase of flowers containing a U.S. flag.]]
On August 7, 2012, Armstrong underwent [[coronary artery bypass surgery|bypass surgery]] at [[Mercy Health (Ohio and Kentucky)|Mercy Faith–Fairfield Hospital]] in [[Fairfield, Ohio]], to relieve [[coronary artery disease]].<ref name="NYT malpractice suit story">{{Cite news|last1=Shane|first1=Scott|last2=Kiliff|first2=Sarah|title=Neil Armstrong's Death, and a Stormy, Secret $6 Million Settlement|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/23/us/neil-armstrong-wrongful-death-settlement.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=July 23, 2019|access-date=July 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Armstrong, First Man on the Moon, Recovering From Heart Surgery |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-people-armstrong-idUSBRE8771KU20120808 |access-date=August 8, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120809070811/http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/08/08/us-usa-people-armstrong-idUSBRE8771KU20120808 |archive-date=August 9, 2012 |date=August 8, 2012}}</ref> Although he was reportedly recovering well,<ref>{{Cite news |first=Thomas |last=H. Maugh II |title=Neil Armstrong recovering well after cardiac bypass surgery |date=August 9, 2012 |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |url=https://www.latimes.com/science/la-xpm-2012-aug-09-la-sci-sn-armstrong-heart-surgery-20120809-story.html |access-date=January 5, 2014 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120921021918/http://articles.latimes.com/2012/aug/09/science/la-sci-sn-armstrong-heart-surgery-20120809 |archive-date=September 21, 2012}}</ref> he developed complications and died on August 25.<ref>{{Cite magazine |title=Neil Armstrong's Death&nbsp;– a Medical Perspective |magazine=[[Scientific American]] |url=http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/molecules-to-medicine/2012/09/03/neil-armstrongs-deatha-medical-perspective/ |first=Judy |last=Stone |date=September 3, 2012 |access-date=December 30, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120904034718/http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/molecules-to-medicine/2012/09/03/neil-armstrongs-deatha-medical-perspective/ |archive-date=September 4, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |title=Space legend Neil Armstrong dies |publisher=CNN|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/us/neil-armstrong-obit/index.html |access-date=January 30, 2022 |date=August 25, 2012|url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121229221442/http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/25/us/neil-armstrong-obit/index.html |archive-date=December 29, 2012}}</ref> President [[Barack Obama]] issued a statement memorializing Armstrong as "among the greatest of American heroes—not just of his time, but of all time",<ref>{{Cite web |title=President Obama's Statement on Neil Armstrong's Death |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal |date=August 25, 2012 |url=https://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/25/president-obamas-statement-on-neil-armstrongs-death/ |access-date=August 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120829012207/http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2012/08/25/president-obamas-statement-on-neil-armstrongs-death/ |archive-date=August 29, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |first= John Noble |last=Wilford |title=Neil Armstrong, First Man on Moon, Dies at 82 |date=August 25, 2012 |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |agency=Associated Press |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/science/space/neil-armstrong-dies-first-man-on-moon.html |access-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120825202024/http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/26/science/space/neil-armstrong-dies-first-man-on-moon.html |archive-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref> and added that Armstrong had carried the aspirations of the United States' citizens and had delivered "a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Statement by the President on the Passing of Neil Armstrong |publisher=The White House, Office of the Press Secretary |url=https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/25/statement-president-passing-neil-armstrong |access-date=August 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170121094421/https://obamawhitehouse.archives.gov/the-press-office/2012/08/25/statement-president-passing-neil-armstrong |archive-date=January 21, 2017 |date=August 25, 2012}}</ref>

[[File:Neil Armstrong burial at sea (201209140008HQ).jpg|thumb|Armstrong's [[burial at sea]] on September 14, 2012|alt=A squad of eight U.S. Navy personnel dressed in all-white uniforms hold a U.S. flag over a casket on the deck of a ship. The casket is carried on a dark wood plinth with several gold-colored badges. Much of the foreground is obscured by a senior officer with his back to us. Beyond is the sea.]]
Armstrong's family released a statement describing him as a "reluctant American hero [who had] served his nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut&nbsp;... While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves. For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Family Statement Regarding the Death of Neil Armstrong |date=August 25, 2012 |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12_600_armstrong_family.html |access-date=August 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006100820/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12_600_armstrong_family.html |archive-date=October 6, 2012}}</ref>

[[Buzz Aldrin]] called Armstrong "a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew", and said he was disappointed that they would not be able to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing together in 2019.<ref>{{Cite tweet |user=TheRealBuzz |number=239488144288927744 |title=Buzz Aldrin on passing of Neil Armstrong |last=Aldrin |first=Buzz |date=August 25, 2012 |access-date=August 25, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Buzz Aldrin's Official Statement on the Passing of Neil Armstrong |date=August 25, 2012 |url=http://buzzaldrin.com/buzz-aldrins-official-statement-on-the-passing-of-neil-armstrong/ |access-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830154317/http://buzzaldrin.com/buzz-aldrins-official-statement-on-the-passing-of-neil-armstrong/ |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |last1=Aldrin |first1=Buzz}}</ref> Michael Collins said, "He was the best, and I will miss him terribly."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neil Armstrong: 1930–2012 |publisher=NASA |date=August 25, 2012 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/armstrong_obit.html |access-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002103013/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/armstrong_obit.html |archive-date=October 2, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Collins |first=Michael |title=The Neil Armstrong I knew&nbsp;– and flew with |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=September 12, 2012 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-collins-the-neil-armstrong-i-knew--and-flew-with/2012/09/12/b3f7556c-fb7c-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html |access-date=September 13, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913103748/http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/michael-collins-the-neil-armstrong-i-knew--and-flew-with/2012/09/12/b3f7556c-fb7c-11e1-8adc-499661afe377_story.html |archive-date=September 13, 2012}}</ref> NASA Administrator [[Charles Bolden]] said, "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own".<ref>{{Cite web |title=NASA Administrator Statement on Neil Armstrong's Death |publisher=NASA |date=August 25, 2012 |url=http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12-601_Bolden_Statement.html |access-date=August 25, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826070237/http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2012/aug/HQ_12-601_Bolden_Statement.html |archive-date=August 26, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=US space pioneer Neil Armstrong dies at 82 – Americas |publisher=Al Jazeera |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/201282519933640323.html |access-date=August 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120827025712/http://www.aljazeera.com/news/americas/2012/08/201282519933640323.html |archive-date=August 27, 2012}}</ref>
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?308141-1/memorial-service-neil-armstrong Memorial service for Armstrong, Washington National Cathedral, September 13, 2012], [[C-SPAN]]}}
A tribute was held for Armstrong on September 13, at [[Washington National Cathedral]], whose Space Window depicts the Apollo 11 mission and holds a sliver of Moon rock amid its stained-glass panels.<ref name="aljazeu" /> In attendance were Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates, Collins and Aldrin; Gene Cernan, the Apollo 17 mission commander and last man to walk on the Moon; and former senator and astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. In his eulogy, Charles Bolden praised Armstrong's "courage, grace, and humility". Cernan recalled Armstrong's low-fuel approach to the Moon: "When the gauge says empty, we all know there's a gallon or two left in the tank!" [[Diana Krall]] sang the song "[[Fly Me to the Moon]]". Collins led prayers. David Scott spoke, possibly for the first time, about an incident during their Gemini&nbsp;8 mission: minutes before the hatch was to be sealed, a small chip of dried glue fell into the latch of his harness and prevented it from being buckled, threatening to abort the mission. Armstrong then called on Conrad to solve the problem, which he did, and the mission proceeded. "That happened because Neil Armstrong was a team player—he always worked on behalf of the team."<ref name="aljazeu">{{Cite web |last=Terrett |first=John |title=Above the stars now |publisher=Al Jazeera |date=September 15, 2012 |url=http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/americas/above-stars-now |access-date=September 26, 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150120202904/http://blogs.aljazeera.com/blog/americas/above-stars-now |archive-date=January 20, 2015}}</ref> Congressman [[Bill Johnson (Ohio politician)|Bill Johnson]] from Armstrong's home state of Ohio led calls for President Barack Obama to authorize a [[state funerals in the United States|state funeral]] in Washington D.C. Throughout his lifetime, Armstrong shunned publicity and rarely gave interviews. Mindful that Armstrong would have objected to a state funeral, his family opted to have a private funeral in [[Cincinnati]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Neil Armstrong: Barack Obama under pressure to grant state funeral|newspaper=The Telegraph|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9501034/Neil-Armstrong-Barack-Obama-under-pressure-to-grant-state-funeral.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120826202941/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/space/9501034/Neil-Armstrong-Barack-Obama-under-pressure-to-grant-state-funeral.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=August 26, 2012 |location=London|first=Nick|last=Allen|date=August 26, 2012}}</ref> On September 14, Armstrong's cremated remains were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean from the {{USS|Philippine Sea|CG-58|6}}.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Neil Armstrong Laid to Rest in Atlantic |publisher=NASA |url=http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/armstrong_cathedral_memorial.html |access-date=September 14, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120913211523/http://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/armstrong_cathedral_memorial.html |archive-date=September 13, 2012}}</ref> Flags were flown at [[half-mast|half-staff]] on the day of Armstrong's funeral.<ref>{{Cite news |first=David |last=Jackson |title=Obama orders flags at half-staff for Neil Armstrong |newspaper=USA Today |date=August 27, 2012 |url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/obama-orders-flags-at-half-staff-for-armstrong/1#.UPMU3InjlU5/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120830003341/https://content.usatoday.com/communities/theoval/post/2012/08/obama-orders-flags-at-half-staff-for-armstrong/1#.UPMU3InjlU5/ |archive-date=August 30, 2012 |url-status=live |access-date=January 13, 2013}}</ref>

In July 2019, after observations of the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing, ''[[The New York Times]]'' reported on details of a [[Medical malpractice in the United States|medical malpractice]] suit Armstrong's family had filed against Mercy Health–Fairfield Hospital, where he died. When Armstrong appeared to be recovering from his bypass surgery, nurses removed the wires connected to his temporary [[Artificial cardiac pacemaker|pacemaker]]. He began to [[internal bleeding|bleed internally]] and his blood pressure dropped. Doctors took him to the hospital's [[catheter]]ization laboratory, and only later began operating. Two of the three physicians who reviewed the medical files during the lawsuit called this a serious error, saying surgery should have begun immediately; experts the ''Times'' talked to, while qualifying their judgement by noting that they were unable to review the specific records in the case, said that taking a patient directly to the operating room under those circumstances generally gave them the highest chance of survival.<ref name="NYT malpractice suit story" />

The family ultimately settled for $6&nbsp;million in 2014. Letters included with the 93&nbsp;pages of documents sent to the ''Times'' by an unknown person<ref>{{cite news |title=A Scoop About Neil Armstrong Arrived in a Plain Brown Envelope |newspaper=The New York Times |first1=Scott |last1=Shane |first2=Sarah |last2=Kliff |date=August 1, 2019 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/01/reader-center/neil-armstrong-settlement-anonymous-tip.html |access-date=September 21, 2020 |ref=none}}</ref> show that his sons intimated to the hospital, through their lawyers, that they might discuss what happened to their father publicly at the 45th anniversary observances in 2014. The hospital, fearing the bad publicity that would result from being accused of negligently causing the death of a revered figure such as Armstrong, agreed to pay as long as the family never spoke about the suit or the settlement.<ref name="NYT malpractice suit story" /> Armstrong's wife, Carol, was not a party to the lawsuit. She reportedly felt that her husband would have been opposed to taking legal action.<ref name="NYT_20190727" />

== Legacy ==
{{see also|Statue of Neil Armstrong (Los Angeles)}}
[[File:US Navy 100514-N-3852A-002 Former astronaut Neil Armstrong gives an acceptance speech after being inducted into the Naval Aviation Hall of Honor at the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Fla.jpg|thumb|Armstrong gives an acceptance speech after being inducted into the [[Naval Aviation Hall of Honor]] at the [[National Naval Aviation Museum]] in [[Pensacola, Florida]]. ]]
When Pete Conrad of [[Apollo 12]] became the third man to walk on the Moon, on November 19, 1969, his first words referenced Armstrong. The shorter of the two, when Conrad stepped from the LM onto the surface he proclaimed "Whoopie! Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."<ref>{{YouTube|id=YEEIJYrXn9s|title=Apollo 12 First Steps|link=no}}</ref>

Armstrong received many honors and awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom (with distinction) from President Nixon,<ref name="LADinner" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/ |title=Astronauts Awed by the Acclaim |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser|page=1 |date=August 14, 1969 |last1=Smith |first1=Merriman |agency=United Press International |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> the [[Cullum Geographical Medal]] from the [[American Geographical Society]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://americangeo.org/the-cullum-geographical-medal/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170630023922/http://americangeo.org/the-cullum-geographical-medal/ |archive-date=June 30, 2017 |title=The Cullum Geographical Medal|work=American Geographical Society }}</ref> and the [[Collier Trophy]] from the [[National Aeronautic Association]] (1969);<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.naa.aero/html/awards/index.cfm?cmsid=153 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070927130814/http://www.naa.aero/html/awards/index.cfm?cmsid=153 |archive-date=September 27, 2007 |title=Collier Trophy – Collier 1960–1969 Winners |publisher=National Aeronautics Association}}</ref> the [[NASA Distinguished Service Medal]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/44062092/arizona_republic/|title=Agnew Confers Awards on Crews of 3 Apollos|newspaper=Arizona Republic|location=Phoenix, Arizona|date=November 14, 1970|agency=Associated Press|page=23|via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> and the [[Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy]] (1970);<ref>{{cite web |title=Past Goddard Trophy Winners |url=http://www.spaceclub.org/events/trophy.html |publisher=National Space Club |access-date=January 27, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304104512/http://www.spaceclub.org/events/trophy.html |archive-date=March 4, 2012}}</ref> the [[Sylvanus Thayer Award]] by the [[United States Military Academy]] (1971);<ref>{{cite web |title=Sylvanus Thayer Award Recipients |publisher=West Point Association of Graduates |url=https://www.westpointaog.org/ThayerAwardrecipients |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171012101647/https://www.westpointaog.org/ThayerAwardrecipients |archive-date=October 12, 2017}}</ref> the [[Congressional Space Medal of Honor]] from President [[Jimmy Carter]] (1978);<ref name="NASA Awards" /> the [[Wright Brothers Memorial Trophy]] from the National Aeronautic Association (2001);<ref>{{cite web |url=https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/wright-brothers-memorial-trophy/wright-bros-2000-2009-winners |title=Wright Bros. 2000–2009 Recipients |publisher=National Aeronautic Association | access-date = December 7, 2017 | url-status=live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171208122457/https://naa.aero/awards/awards-and-trophies/wright-brothers-memorial-trophy/wright-bros-2000-2009-winners | archive-date = December 8, 2017}}</ref> and a [[Congressional Gold Medal]] (2011).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/gold_medal.html |title=NASA Legends Awarded Congressional Gold Medal |publisher=NASA |date=November 16, 2011 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519175531/https://www.nasa.gov/topics/people/features/gold_medal.html |archive-date=May 19, 2017}}</ref>

Armstrong was elected as member into the [[National Academy of Engineering]] in 1978 for contributions to aerospace engineering, scientific knowledge, and exploration of the universe as an experimental test pilot and astronaut.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nae.edu/29763/Mr-Neil-Alden-Armstrong|title=Mr. Neil Alden Armstrong|website=NAE Website}}</ref> He was elected to the [[American Philosophical Society]] in 2001.<ref>{{Cite web|title=APS Member History|url=https://search.amphilsoc.org/memhist/search?creator=Neil+Armstrong&title=&subject=&subdiv=&mem=&year=&year-max=&dead=&keyword=&smode=advanced|access-date=October 14, 2021|website=search.amphilsoc.org}}</ref>

Armstrong and his Apollo 11 crewmates were the 1999 recipients of the [[Langley Gold Medal]] from the Smithsonian Institution.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/space/9907/20/apollo.11.awards/ |title=Apollo 11 astronauts honored for 'astonishing' mission |date=July 20, 1999 |publisher=CNN|access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180301164519/http://edition.cnn.com/TECH/space/9907/20/apollo.11.awards/ |archive-date=March 1, 2018}}</ref> On April 18, 2006, he received NASA's Ambassador of Exploration Award.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/armstrong_ambassador_of_exploration.html |title=NASA Honors Neil Armstrong With Exploration Award |publisher=NASA |date=April 18, 2006 |access-date=December 5, 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150602190438/http://www.nasa.gov/vision/space/features/armstrong_ambassador_of_exploration.html |archive-date=June 2, 2015}}</ref> The [[Space Foundation]] named Armstrong as a recipient of its 2013 General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Armstrong and Sally Ride Are 2013 General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award Honorees |publisher=Space Foundation |url=http://www.spacefoundation.org/media/press-releases/neil-armstrong-and-sally-ride-are-2013-general-james-e-hill-lifetime-space |access-date=March 26, 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130603040641/http://www.spacefoundation.org/media/press-releases/neil-armstrong-and-sally-ride-are-2013-general-james-e-hill-lifetime-space |archive-date=June 3, 2013}}</ref> Armstrong was also inducted into the [[Aerospace Walk of Honor]],<ref>{{cite web |title=Honorees |publisher=City of Lancaster |url=http://www.cityoflancasterca.org/index.aspx?page=193 |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110519062713/http://cityoflancasterca.org/index.aspx?page=193 |archive-date=May 19, 2011}}</ref><ref name=ind91>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/36299181/the_los_angeles_times/|title=Neil Armstrong to Join Lancaster Walk of Honor|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=September 17, 1991|page=B3|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Chandler|first1=John}}</ref> the [[International Space Hall of Fame]],<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/29967024/las_vegas_optic/ |title=Space Pioneers Enshrined |last1=Locke |first1=Robert |agency=Associated Press |newspaper=Las Vegas Optic |location=Las Vegas, New Mexico |date=October 6, 1976 |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> [[National Aviation Hall of Fame]], and the [[United States Astronaut Hall of Fame]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/33582881/florida_today/|title=Activities Honor Gemini Astronauts|newspaper=Florida Today|location=Cocoa, Florida|date=March 14, 1993|page=41|via=Newspapers.com|last1=Clark|first1=Amy}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Neil A. Armstrong |publisher=Astronaut Scholarship Foundation |url=http://www.astronautscholarship.org/armstrong.html |access-date=May 19, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111001025716/http://www.astronautscholarship.org/armstrong.html |archive-date=October 1, 2011}}</ref> He was awarded his [[Astronaut Badge|Naval Astronaut badge]] in a ceremony on board the aircraft carrier {{USS|Dwight D. Eisenhower|CVN-69|6}} on March 10, 2010, in a ceremony attended by Lovell and Cernan.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=51836 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |title=Astronaut Legend Receives Naval Astronaut Wings Aboard 'Ike' |date=March 10, 2010 |first=Amy |last=Kirk |publisher=United States Navy |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180228041525/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=51836 |archive-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref>

[[File:President Obama Meets with Crew of Apollo 11 (200907200016HQ) (explored) DVIDS723610.jpg|thumb|left|President [[Barack Obama]] poses with the Apollo 11 crew on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar landing, July 20, 2009: Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, and Neil Armstrong.|alt=The astronauts are all elderly but standing straight. Aldrin wears a dark suit, Collins a dark sport coat and gray pants, and Armstrong a beige suit. The President is at the right. He wears a dark suit. He has medium-dark skin and is talking to Armstrong and raising his left hand. Armstrong is smiling.]]

The lunar crater [[Armstrong (crater)|Armstrong]], {{convert|31|mi}} from the Apollo 11 landing site, and [[asteroid]] [[6469 Armstrong]] are named in his honor.<ref>{{cite web |title=Discovery Circumstances: Numbered Minor Planets (5001)-(10000) |url=http://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/lists/NumberedMPs005001.html |access-date=November 27, 2015 |publisher=The International Astronomical Minor Planet Center}}</ref> There are more than a dozen elementary, middle and high schools named for Armstrong in the United States,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&InstName=neil+armstrong&SchoolID=&Address=&City=&State=&Zip=&Miles=&County=&PhoneAreaCode=&Phone=&DistrictName=&DistrictID=&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1 |title=Search for Public School |access-date=July 10, 2007 |publisher=National Center for Educational Statistics |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071011184021/http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/school_list.asp?Search=1&InstName=neil+armstrong&SchoolID=&Address=&City=&State=&Zip=&Miles=&County=&PhoneAreaCode=&Phone=&DistrictName=&DistrictID=&SchoolType=1&SchoolType=2&SchoolType=3&SchoolType=4&SpecificSchlTypes=all&IncGrade=-1&LoGrade=-1&HiGrade=-1 |archive-date=October 11, 2007}}</ref> and many places around the world have streets, buildings, schools, and other places named for him or Apollo.<ref>{{cite news |title=Ireland: What's in a name? Cold, hard cash |newspaper=[[The Times]] |date=December 22, 2002 |url=http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article804378.ece |access-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110609215101/http://property.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/property/article804378.ece |archive-date=June 9, 2011 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> The [[Armstrong Air and Space Museum]], in Armstrong's hometown of Wapakoneta,<ref>{{cite news |last=Knight |first=Andy |title=To the moon: Armstrong space museum offers history lessons on space travel |newspaper=Cincinnati.com |date=Winter 2000 |url=http://www.cincinnati.com/visitorsguide/stories/012800_moon.html |access-date=August 28, 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223011402/http://www.cincinnati.com/visitorsguide/stories/012800_moon.html |archive-date=December 23, 2007}}</ref> and the Neil Armstrong Airport in [[New Knoxville, Ohio]], are named after him.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.neilarmstrongairport.com/ |title=Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport |publisher=Auglaize County Neil Armstrong Airport |access-date=March 4, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170921040243/http://neilarmstrongairport.com/ |archive-date=September 21, 2017}}</ref> The mineral [[armstrongite]] is named after him,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Vladykin |first1=N. V. |last2=Kovalenko |first2=V. I. |last3=Kashaev |first3=A. A. |last4=Sapozhnikov |first4=A. N. |last5=Pisarskaya |first5=V. A. |title=A new silicate of calcium and zirconium – armstrongite |journal=Doklady Akademii Nauk SSSR |year=1973 |volume=209 |pages=1185–1188}}</ref> and the mineral [[armalcolite]] is named, in part, after him.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Anderson |first1=A. T. |title=Armalcolite, a new mineral from the Apollo 11 samples |journal=Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta |year=1970 |volume=34 |issue=Supplement 1 |pages=55–63|bibcode=1970GeCAS...1...55A }}</ref>

In October 2004 Purdue University named its new engineering building [[Purdue University College of Engineering|Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering]];<ref>{{cite news |last=Holsapple |first=Matt |title=Purdue launching Neil Armstrong Hall for engineering's future |newspaper=Purdue University News |date=October 16, 2004 |url=http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/2004/041016.Jischke.Armstrong.html |access-date=August 28, 2007 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071016105510/http://news.uns.purdue.edu/html3month/2004/041016.Jischke.Armstrong.html |archive-date=October 16, 2007}}</ref> the building was dedicated on October 27, 2007, during a ceremony at which Armstrong was joined by fourteen other Purdue astronauts.<ref>{{cite news |last=Venere |first=Emil |title=Neil Armstrong Hall is new home to Purdue engineering |newspaper=Purdue University News |date=October 27, 2007 |url=http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007b/071027CelArmstrongDedication.html |access-date=January 5, 2008 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230143412/http://news.uns.purdue.edu/x/2007b/071027CelArmstrongDedication.html |archive-date=December 30, 2007}}</ref> The NASA Dryden Flight Research Center was renamed the [[Armstrong Flight Research Center|NASA Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center]] in 2014.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://purl.fdlp.gov/GPO/gpo46206 |title=An Act to Redesignate the Dryden Flight Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center and the Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range |publisher=US Government Publishing Office |access-date=February 28, 2018}}</ref> NASA has separately renamed the Plum Brook Station test site at [[Glenn Research Center]] as [[Glenn Research Center#Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility|Neil A. Armstrong Test Facility]]. In September 2012, the U.S. Navy named the first ''Armstrong''-class vessel {{warship|RV|Neil Armstrong|AGOR-27|6}}. Delivered to the Navy on September 23, 2015, it is a modern oceanographic research platform supporting a wide range of activities by academic groups.<ref>{{cite web |title=Navy Announces Research Vessel to be Named in Honor of Neil Armstrong |date=September 24, 2012 |publisher=United States Navy |url=http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=69758 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121202044715/http://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=69758 |archive-date=December 2, 2012}}</ref> In 2019, the College of Engineering at Purdue University celebrated the 50th anniversary of Neil Armstrong's walk on the Moon by launching the Neil Armstrong Distinguished Visiting Fellows Program, which brings highly accomplished scholars and practitioners to the college to catalyze collaborations with faculty and students.<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Armstrong Distinguished Visiting Fellows |publisher= Purdue University |url=https://engineering.purdue.edu/NADVF |access-date=April 30, 2019}}</ref>
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?189961-1/first-man-life-neil-a-armstrong Presentation by James Hansen on ''First Man'', November 9, 2005], [[C-SPAN]]}}
Armstrong's authorized biography, ''[[First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong]]'', was published in 2005. For many years, he turned down biography offers from authors such as [[Stephen Ambrose]] and [[James A. Michener]] but agreed to work with James R. Hansen after reading one of Hansen's other biographies.<ref>{{cite web |last=McGauley |first=John |title=Discovering the Man Behind 'First Man' |date=October 14, 2005 |website=collectSPACE|url=http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-013003b.html#100305 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180131140927/http://www.collectspace.com/news/news-013003b.html#100305 |archive-date=January 31, 2018}}</ref> He recalled his initial concerns about the Apollo 11 mission, when he had believed there was only a 50% chance of landing on the Moon. "I was elated, ecstatic and extremely surprised that we were successful".<ref>{{cite news |first=Sean |last=Yoong |title=Neil Armstrong: Manned Mars mission 20 years away |newspaper=[[USA Today]] |location=Washington DC |date=September 6, 2005 |url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-09-06-mars-armstrong_x.htm |access-date=May 3, 2011 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110726194523/http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2005-09-06-mars-armstrong_x.htm |archive-date=July 26, 2011}}</ref> A [[First Man (film)|film adaptation of the book]], starring [[Ryan Gosling]] and directed by [[Damien Chazelle]], was released in October 2018.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle-neil-armstrong-biopic-first-man-release-date-trailer-oscars-2019-best-a7618146.html |title=First Man: Damien Chazelle and Ryan Gosling's Neil Armstrong biopic gets awards season release date |first=Jacob |last=Stolworthy |date=March 8, 2017 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180201013746/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/ryan-gosling-damien-chazelle-neil-armstrong-biopic-first-man-release-date-trailer-oscars-2019-best-a7618146.html |archive-date=February 1, 2018}}</ref>

In July 2018, Armstrong's sons consigned his collection of memorabilia to [[Heritage Auctions]], launching a series of sales that including his Boy Scout cap, and various flags and medals flown on his space missions. A series of auctions held November 1–3, 2018, realized $5,276,320 (~${{Format price|{{Inflation|index=US-GDP|value=5276320|start_year=2018}}}} in {{Inflation/year|US-GDP}}). {{As of|July 2019}}, the auction sales totaled $16.7{{nbsp}}million.<ref name="NYT_20190727">{{cite news | title='Would Dad Approve?' Neil Armstrong's Heirs Divide Over a Lucrative Legacy |newspaper=The New York Times | date=July 27, 2019 | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/27/us/neil-armstrong-heirs.html | access-date=July 27, 2019 | first1=Scott | last1=Shane | first2=Sarah | last2=Kliff | first3=Susanne | last3=Craig}}</ref> Two fragments of wood from the propeller and four pieces of fabric from the wing of the 1903 ''[[Wright Flyer]]'' that Armstrong took to the Moon fetched between $112,500 and $275,000 each,<ref>{{cite web |title=One giant sale: Neil Armstrong's collection goes to auction |date=July 20, 2018 |first=Lisa |last=Cornwell |website=phys.org |url=https://phys.org/news/2018-07-giant-sale-neil-armstrong-auction.html |access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=CAG-certified Armstrong Family Collection Tops $5.2 Million in First Auction |publisher=PMG |date=November 5, 2018 |url=https://www.pmgnotes.com/news/article/6960/ |access-date=December 16, 2018}}</ref> as well as his Apollo 11 flown gold medal, which fetched $2.06 million in a separate Heritage sale.<ref>{{Cite web |date=July 17, 2019 |title=Neil Armstrong's gold medal that flew to the Moon sold for more than $2 million |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/apollo-11-neil-armstrong-medal-moon-sold |access-date=July 31, 2025 |website=Fox News |language=en-US}}</ref> Armstrong's wife, Carol, has not put any of his memorabilia up for sale.<ref name="NYT_20190727" />

Armstrong donated his papers to Purdue. Along with posthumous donations by his widow Carol, the collection consists of over 450{{nbsp}}boxes of material. In May 2019, she donated two {{convert|25|by|24|in|adj=on}} pieces of fabric from the ''Wright Flyer'', along with his correspondence related to them.<ref>{{cite news |title=Wright Flyer fabric lands at Purdue University Archives |newspaper=Purdue University News |date=May 30, 2019 |url=https://www.purdue.edu/newsroom/releases/2019/Q2/wright-flyer-fabric-lands-at-purdue-university-archives.html |access-date= July 5, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Ohio_quarter,_reverse_side,_2002.png|thumb|Ohio's [[50 State quarters|state quarter]] depicts Armstrong and the [[Wright brothers]]' [[Wright Flyer III]].]]
In a 2010 ''Space Foundation'' survey, Armstrong was ranked as the number-one most popular space hero;<ref>{{cite press release |title=Space Foundation Survey Reveals Broad Range of Space Heroes |publisher=Space Foundation |date=October 27, 2010 |access-date=May 13, 2011 |url=http://www.spacefoundation.org/news/story.php?id=1038 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120723031011/http://www.spacefoundation.org/media/press-releases/space-foundation-survey-reveals-broad-range-space-heroes-early-astronauts-still?id=1038 |archive-date=July 23, 2012}}</ref> and in 2013, ''[[Flying (magazine)|Flying]]'' magazine ranked him number one on its list of 51 Heroes of Aviation.<ref>{{cite journal |title=51 Heroes of Aviation |newspaper=Flying |url=http://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/51-heroes-aviation?pnid=41853 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |date=July 24, 2013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016015011/http://www.flyingmag.com/photo-gallery/photos/51-heroes-aviation?pnid=41853 |archive-date=October 16, 2015}}</ref> The press often asked Armstrong for his views on the future of spaceflight. In 2005, he said that a [[human mission to Mars]] would be easier than the lunar challenge of the 1960s. In 2010, he made a rare public criticism of the decision to cancel the [[Ares I]] launch vehicle and the [[Constellation program|Constellation Moon landing program]].<ref>{{cite news |quote=I suspect that even though the various questions are difficult and many, they are not as difficult and many as those we faced when we started the Apollo [space program] in 1961. |last=Kaplan |first=Jeremy A. |title=Star Wars: Neil Armstrong, Obama Spar Over NASA's Future |date=April 14, 2010 |publisher=Fox News |url=https://www.foxnews.com/science/star-wars-neil-armstrong-obama-spar-over-nasas-future |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151029081228/http://www.foxnews.com/scitech/2010/04/14/obama-vs-neil-armstrong-nasa-constellation/?test=latestnews |archive-date=October 29, 2015}}</ref> In an open letter also signed by fellow Apollo veterans Lovell and Cernan, he said, "For The United States, the leading space faring nation for nearly half a century, to be without carriage to low Earth orbit and with no human exploration capability to go beyond Earth orbit for an indeterminate time into the future, destines our nation to become one of second or even third rate stature".<ref>{{cite news |last1=Armstrong |first1=Neil |last2=Lovell |first2=James |last3=Cernan |first3=Eugene |title=Armstrong: Obama NASA plan 'devastating' |date=April 14, 2010 |publisher=NBC Nightly News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna36470363 |access-date=October 18, 2018 }}</ref> On November 18, 2010, aged 80, he said in a speech during the ''[[Meet the Future, Science & Technology Summit 2010|Science & Technology Summit]]'' in [[the Hague, Netherlands]], that he would offer his services as commander on a mission to Mars if he were asked.<ref>{{cite web |title=Neil Armstrong wil nog best naar Mars |trans-title=Neil Armstrong still wants to go to Mars |newspaper=NU.nl |via=ANP |language=nl |date=November 18, 2010 |url=http://www.nu.nl/wetenschap/2382331/neil-armstrong-wil-nog-best-mars.html |access-date=February 28, 2018 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180220151853/https://www.nu.nl/wetenschap/2382331/neil-armstrong-wil-nog-best-mars.html |archive-date=February 20, 2018}}</ref>

The planetarium at [[Altoona Area High School]] in [[Altoona, Pennsylvania]] is named after Armstrong and is home to a [[Space Race]] museum.<ref>{{cite web |last1=School District |first1=Altoona Area |title=Welcome to the Neil Armstrong Planetarium |url=https://aahs.aasdcat.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=424697&type=d&pREC_ID=1034959 |website=Altoona Area High School |publisher=Altoona Area School District |access-date=April 25, 2020 |archive-date=November 3, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231103080035/https://aahs.aasdcat.com/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=424697&type=d&pREC_ID=1034959 |url-status=dead }}</ref> A campsite in Camp Sandy Beach at [[Yawgoog Scout Reservation]] in [[Rockville, Rhode Island]], is named in his honor, a nod to his Scouting career.

Armstrong was named the [[USAFA Class exemplar|class exemplar]] for the Class of 2019 at the U.S. Air Force Academy.<ref>{{Cite news |last1=Swanson |first1=Conrad |first2=Tom |last2=Roeder |date=May 30, 2019 |title=Air Force Academy graduation notes: Class of 2019 gives nod to Neil Armstrong |url=https://gazette.com/military/air-force-academy-graduation-notes-class-of-2019-gives-nod-to-neil-armstrong/article_c2647ece-8327-11e9-9c8a-13a69088cc68.html|access-date=June 10, 2020 |newspaper=Colorado Springs Gazette}}</ref>

== Notes ==
{{Reflist}}

== References ==
{{refbegin|30em}}
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* {{cite book |last1=Brooks |first1=Courtney G. |last2=Grimwood |first2=James M. |last3=Swenson |first3=Loyd S. Jr. |others=Foreword by [[Samuel C. Phillips]] |title=Chariots for Apollo: A History of Manned Lunar Spacecraft |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html |access-date=August 1, 2013 |series=The NASA History Series |year=2009 |orig-year=1979 |publisher=Scientific and Technical Information Branch, NASA |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-486-46756-6 |oclc=227923959 |lccn=79001042 |id=NASA SP-4205 |ref=CITEREFBrooks_et_al.2009 |archive-date=October 20, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020095653/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/SP-4205/cover.html |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Burgess |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Burgess (author) |title=Moon Bound: Choosing and Preparing NASA's Lunar Astronauts |location=New York; London |publisher=Springer |year=2013 |series=Springer-Praxis books in space exploration |isbn=978-1-4614-3854-0 |oclc=905162781 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Cernan |first1=Eugene |author-link1=Eugene Cernan |first2=Don |last2=Davis |title=The Last Man on the Moon |year=1999 |publisher=St Martin's Griffin |location=New York |isbn=978-0-312-19906-7 |oclc=40200305 |url=https://archive.org/details/lastmanonmoonast00cern_0 }}
* {{cite book |last=Chaikin |first=Andrew |title=A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-14-024146-4 |oclc=895935578 |title-link=A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts}}
* {{cite book |last=Chaikin |first=Andrew |title=A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts |location=London |publisher=Penguin Books |orig-year=1994 |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-14-311235-8 |oclc=958200469 }}
* {{cite book |last=Collins |first=Michael |year=2001 |title=Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys |location=New York |publisher=Cooper Square Press |isbn=978-0-8154-1028-7 |oclc=45755963 |title-link = Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys}}
* {{cite journal |last=Cortright |first=Edgar M. |title=Apollo Expeditions to the Moon |journal=NASA Special Publication |year=1975 |volume=350 |id=NASA SP 350 |oclc=251694818 |bibcode=1975NASSP.350.....C}}
* {{cite book |last=Cunningham |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Cunningham |year=2010 |isbn=978-1-876963-24-8 |title=The All-American Boys |orig-year=1977 |location=New York |publisher=ipicturebooks |oclc=713908039 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Hacker |first1=Barton C. |last2=Grimwood |first2=James M. |title=On the Shoulders of Titans: A History of Project Gemini |url=http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4203.pdf |access-date=April 8, 2018 |series=NASA History Series |year=2010 |orig-year=1977 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-16-067157-9 |id=NASA SP-4203 |oclc=945144787 |archive-date=October 9, 2022 |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://history.nasa.gov/SP-4203.pdf |url-status=dead }}
* {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=James R. |title=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7432-5631-5 |oclc=937302502 |title-link=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong}}
* {{cite book |last=Hansen |first=James R. |title=First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong |location=New York |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2012 |isbn=978-1-4767-2781-3 |oclc=1029741947 }}
* {{cite book |last=Harland |first=David |title=Exploring the Moon: The Apollo Expeditions |location=London; New York |publisher=Springer |date=1999 |isbn=978-1-85233-099-6 |oclc=982158259 }}
* {{cite book |last=Jenkins |first=Dennis R. |date=June 2000 |title=Hypersonics Before the Shuttle: A Concise History of the X-15 Research Airplane |series=Monographs in Aerospace History |publisher=NASA |id=NASA SP-2000-4518 |location=Washington, DC |url=https://history.nasa.gov/monograph18.pdf |access-date=February 28, 2018 |oclc=421657636 }}
* {{cite journal |last=Johnson |first=Sandra L. |title=Red, White & Blue: U.S. Flag at Home on the Moon |url=https://houstonhistorymagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/red-white-and-blue-US-flag.pdf |journal=Houston History Magazine |date=Fall 2008 |volume=6 |issue=1 |page=60 |access-date=March 17, 2014 }}
* {{cite book |last=Koestler-Grack |first=Rachel A. |title=Neil Armstrong |location=Pleasantville, New York |publisher=Gareth Stevens |date=2010 |isbn=978-1-4339-2147-6 |oclc=300982973 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/neilarmstrong0000koes }}
* {{cite book |last=Kraft |first=Chris |title=Flight: My Life in Mission Control |publisher=Dutton |year=2001 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-525-94571-0 |oclc=49323520 |url=https://archive.org/details/flight00chri }}
* {{cite book |last=Kranz |first=Gene |author-link=Gene Kranz |title=Failure is not an Option: Mission Control From Mercury to Apollo 13 and Beyond |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780743200790 |url-access=registration |location=Alexandria, Virginia |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=2000 |isbn=978-1-4391-4881-5 |oclc=810544750 }}
* {{cite book |last1=Lovell |first1=Jim |author-link1=Jim Lovell |last2=Kluger |first2=Jeffrey |author-link2=Jeffrey Kluger |title=Apollo 13 |year=2000 |location=Boston |publisher=Houghton Mifflin |isbn=978-0-618-05665-1 |oclc=1011809615 }}
* {{cite book |author=Manned Spacecraft Center |title=Apollo 11 Mission Report |date=November 1969 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030616190156/http://history.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_MissionReport.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=June 16, 2003 |access-date=February 28, 2018 |location=Houston |publisher=NASA |id=MSC 00171 |oclc=8444918 }}
* {{cite book |last=Nelson |first=Craig |title=Rocket Men: The Epic Story of the First Men on the Moon |url=https://archive.org/details/isbn_9780670021031 |url-access=registration |location=New York City |publisher=Viking |year=2009 |isbn=978-0-7195-6948-7 |oclc=699213335 }}
* {{cite book |last=Nickell |first=Duane S. |title=Guidebook for the Scientific Traveler: Visiting Astronomy and Space |location=New Brunswick, New Jersey |publisher=Rutgers University Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-8135-4374-1 |oclc=190785292 }}
* {{cite book |last=Orloff |first=Richard W. |title=Apollo by the Numbers: A Statistical Reference |series=NASA History Series |year=2000 |publisher=NASA History Division, Office of Policy and Plans |location=Washington, DC |isbn=978-0-16-050631-4 |oclc=829406439 |lccn=00061677 |id=NASA SP-2000-4029 |url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4029.pdf |access-date=March 4, 2018 }}
* {{cite book |last=Reichl |first=Eugen |title=Project Gemini |publisher=Schiffer |year=2016 |isbn=978-0-7643-5070-2 |location=Atglen, Pennsylvania}}
* {{cite book |last=Shapiro |first=Michael E. |title=Cable Television Prime Time Programming 1990–2010 |publisher=McFarland & Co |year=2012 |isbn=978-0-7864-7087-7 |oclc=878810736 |location=Jefferson, North Carolina }}
* {{cite book |last=Smith |first=Andrew |title=Moondust: In Search of the Men Who Fell to Earth |location=London |publisher=Bloomsbury |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7475-6368-6 |oclc=728066122 }}
{{refend}}

== Further reading ==
{{external media| float = right| video1 = [https://www.c-span.org/video/?320051-1/after-words-jay-barbree ''After Words'' interview with Jay Barbree on ''Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight'', July 19, 2014], [[C-SPAN]]}}
<!-- Books only! -->
{{refbegin}}
* {{cite book |last1=Barbree |first1=Jay | author-link = Jay Barbree |title=Neil Armstrong: A Life of Flight |location=New York |publisher=Thomas Dunne Books |year=2014 |isbn=978-1-250-04071-8 |oclc=900815422 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last1=French |first1=Francis |author-link1=Francis French (author) |last2=Burgess |first2=Colin |author-link2=Colin Burgess (author) |year=2010 |title=In the Shadow of the Moon | title-link= In the Shadow of the Moon (book) |location=Lincoln, Nebraska, and London |publisher=University of Nebraska Press |isbn=978-0-8032-2979-2 |oclc=1019883802 |ref=none}}
* {{cite book |last=Thompson |first=Milton O. |year=1992 |title=At the Edge of Space: The X-15 Flight Program |location=Washington, D.C. |publisher=Smithsonian Books |isbn=978-1-56098-107-7 |oclc=925195868 |url=https://archive.org/details/atedgeofspacex1500thom |ref=none}}
{{refend}}

== External links ==
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<!--===============================================================================-->
* [http://uc.edu/armstrong Neil Armstrong Commemorative Website]{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} – [[University of Cincinnati]]
* [https://www.nytimes.com/topic/person/neil-armstrong Neil Armstrong collected news and commentary]. ''[[The New York Times]]''.
* {{Guardian topic | science/neil-armstrong}}
* {{C-SPAN|8521}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-bef|before = [[Ellsworth Bunker]]}}
{{s-ttl|title = [[Sylvanus Thayer Award]] recipient|years = 1971}}
{{s-aft|after = [[Billy Graham (evangelist)|Billy Graham]]}}
{{s-end}}

{{People who have traveled to the Moon}}
{{Congressional Space Medal of Honor}}
{{NASA Astronaut Group 2}}
{{Gemini program}}
{{North American X-15}}
{{U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame}}
{{Authority control}}
{{Subject bar
 |commons        = yes
 |d              = yes
 |q              = yes
 |n              = yes
 |v              = yes
 |s              = yes
 |portal1        = Biography
 |portal2        = Spaceflight
 |portal3        = Aviation
 |portal4        = Solar System
 |portal5        = Ohio
 |portal6        = United States
}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Armstrong, Neil}}
[[Category:Neil Armstrong| ]]
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