Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio, USA. · Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio, USA

Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio, USA.

www.teachingideas.co.uk Images: © ThinkStock©

He was always fascinated by aeroplanes and he gained his pilot’s licence on his sixteenth birthday.

Armstrong was a pilot in the US Navy. In 1950, his plane was shown down while he was fighting in the Korean War.


After fighting in the war, he tested new and experimental planes.

One of the planes that Armstrong flew was called the X-15 rocket-powered aircraft which flew at 4,000 miles per hour!


Armstrong flew over 200 different models of aircraft. These include jets, rockets and helicopters.

Armstrong married Janet Shearon in 1956. They had a son called Eric, a daughter called Karen (who sadly died when she was two years old) and another son called Mark.


Neil Armstrong made his first space flight on Gemini 8 in 1966.

Armstrong and David Scott were the first astronauts to dock two vehicles in space, as part of the Gemini 8 mission.


On 16th July 1969, Apollo 11 took Neil Armstrong, Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin and Michael Collins into space.

Apollo 11 took four days to reach the moon.


As he stepped from the spacecraft onto the surface of the moon, Armstrong said “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

Apollo 11 returned to Earth on 24th July 1969, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean.


Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins had to stay in quarantine for 21 days after their return, to make sure that they didn’t bring any germs back from the moon.

An asteroid and a crater on the moon have been named after Armstrong.


Talking about his visit to the moon, Armstrong once said "It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it."

Only 12 people have visited the moon so far. Neil Armstrong was the first.


After divorcing his first wife, Armstrong married again in 1994. He lived with his second wife, Carol, in Ohio.

Armstrong became a professor at the University of Cincinnati and died in 2012.


Neil Armstrong received medals, trophies and awards from 17 different countries.


Documents

Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio, USA. · Neil Armstrong was born in 1930 in Ohio, USA