Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, has died. He was 82.
Earlier in the month, Armstrong had heart bypass surgery to relieve blocked coronary ateries, shortly after his birthday on August 5. He had been trying to recover from the surgery.
Armstong, along with Buzz Aldrin planted the U.S. Flag on the surface of the moon on July 20,1969, after becoming the first people to walk on the moon. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that brought them to the moon and radioed back that the historic news was "one giant step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The two spent two and a half hours exploring the moon.
Shortly after the Apollo 11, which was his last space flight, Armstrong left NASA and became a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
During his career, Armstrong was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by Richard Nixon, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor by President Jimmy Carter in 1978, and most recently, the Congressional Gold Medal in 2009.
Before his career as an astronaut, Armstrong served in the United States Army during the Korean War. He then became a test pilot at ther National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics. Armstrong graduated from Purdue University and completed his master of science degree in aeronautical engineering at the University of Southern California.
Armstrong had been out of the public view over the past few years, spending most of his time home in the Cincinnati suburb of Indian Hill. He was last seen in public in February where he spoke at Ohio State University for an event honoring fellow astronaut John Glenn as it was the 50th anniversary of Glenn becoming he first American to orbit the Earth.
He is survived by his wife, Carol, and his children Eric, and Mark.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
