Explorers: Neil Armstrong

The most historic event of man kind was immortalised in his statement

"This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

- Neil Alden Armstrong

Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon. He was also an aerospace engineer, naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.

"The bosses asked, 'Do you think you and your guys are ready?' I said it'd be nice to have another month, but we're in a race here and we had to take the opportunity when we had it. I had to say we are ready, we are ready to go."

In January 1969, Armstrong was chosen to command Apollo 11 space mission. He was accompanied by  Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr and Michael Collins. On July 16, 1969, a saturn 5 booster rocket launched Apollo 11 and its crew into space. Four days later, on July 2, the lunar module, the eagle landed on the moon, in a smooth region called the sea of Tranquility.

"In my view, the emotional moment was the landing. That was human contact with the moon, the landing…. It was at the time when we landed that we were there, we were in the lunar environment, the lunar gravity. That, in my view, was…the emotional high. And the business of getting down the ladder to me was much less significant."

Armstrong thrilled the world when he radioed National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with the declaration. "Eagle has landed". Then at 10:56 PM (EST), Armstrong became the first human being to set foot on the moon.

For nearly 22 hours, Armstrong and Aldrin explored and collected samples of the moon's surface.

On 22 July, The apollo 11 crew re-entered the Earth's atmosphere, splashing down in the pacific ocean at 12:50PM (EST).

Hailed as Heroes, the astronauts were each awarded he Presidential medal of freedom.

Neil Armstrong interview, BBC 1970.

In a 1970 interview with BBC Television, months after he returned from the Apollo 11 mission, Armstrong recounted his experience on the moon, describing its surface and the experience in vivid detail.

Full interviews:
http://www.theguardian.com/science/2012/aug/25/neil-armstrong-last-interview
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/neil-armstrong-apollo-11/