Neil Armstrong, the first person to walk on the moon, has died today:
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who uttered one of history’s most famous proclamations when he became the first man to walk on the moon in 1969, died Saturday.
Armstrong was commander of the Apollo 11 mission that made the first manned lunar landing on July 20, 1969. He had undergone heart surgery Aug. 8, three days after his 82nd birthday. His family said that Armstrong had passed from post-surgery complications but provided no other details.
As he stepped off the lunar module and set foot on the moon’s surface, he said “that’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” underscoring a centuries-old fantasy among human kind and a high point in the Cold War era space race between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. An estimated 500 million TV viewers watched the event, engrossed by the surreal, grainy black-and-white footage.
I remember my parents allowing me and my sister to stay up late…REALLY late to watch Armstrong take that first step. When the module landed on the moon, my dad–not much of a casual drinker–was so freaked out, he had to mix himself a scotch and water! For those who weren’t alive then, I can’t even begin to describe how big a deal it was. RIP Neal.
Via USA Today
