Learn about the first man who walked on the Moon in our 10 amazing Neil Armstrong facts…

 

Neil Armstrong facts

Neil Armstrong facts
Neil in his (at the time) state-of-the-art NASA spacesuit — without the helmet!

Full name: Neil Alden Armstrong
Date of birth: 5 August 1930
Hometown: Wapakoneta, Ohio, U.S.A.
Occupation: Astronaut, military pilot, professor
Died: 25 August 2012
Best known for: Being the first human to walk on the moon

1) Neil Armstrong was the first human to walk on the moon during the NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration) Apollo 11 mission on 20th July 1969. He completed the mission alongside co-pilots Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin and Michael Collins.

2) When Neil was a child growing up in rural America, he loved to learn all about aeroplanes and space. He got his student pilot’s licence when he was just 16 — before he even learned to drive a car!

White text reads 'Fascinated by space? Become a stargazer with our range of Nat Geo KiDS telescopes' The post also shows a National Geographic microscope and telescope set

3) When Neil was 17, he went to university to study aeronautical engineering — the science used in the designing, building and testing of aircrafts. Clever!

4) Around the world, more than half a billion people watched the Moon Landing. When Neil stepped foot on the moon for the first time, he said the now famous line, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Neil Armstrong facts: Neil Armstrong's photographed with his mission for NASA
The Apollo 11 crew – Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. “Buzz” Aldrin. Neil and Buzz landed on the moon using the ‘Lunar Module’, while Michael guided them from their command base.

5) Neil walked a distance of about 60 metres on the surface of the moon —that’s roughly the length of 11 Asian elephants!

6) The rocket that launched Neil and his crew into space – the Saturn V rocket – was as tall as a 36-storey building! The Launch Control Center – which housed the team of people responsible for overseeing the launch from the ground – was situated 3.5 miles from the launch pad itself.

Neil Armstrong facts
Neil and his crew talking to the U.S. president at the time, Richard Nixon, on their return from the Apollo 11 mission.

7) The Lunar Module that Neil and Buzz piloted together to land on the moon was called the Eagle. It’s where the now famous saying, “The Eagle has landed”, comes from!

8) Not only were Neil and Buzz the first humans to step foot on the moon, but they were also the first humans to view Earth from the moon’s surface. Neil said that while there, he could hold up his thumb and block out the Earth! He said that the Moon felt lonely, but that it made him realise just how beautiful our home is.

9) When Neil and his co-pilot, Buzz, were on the moon, they collected dust materials from the moon’s surface to study back on Earth. In 2017, the samples were sold at auction for £1.4 millionwow!

Neil Armstrong facts: Neil Armstrong photographed for NASA

10) Neil was considered a great American hero, but a reluctant hero, too. After the Apollo 11 Mission, Neil only stayed with NASA for a further two years. He found the press attention exhausting, and decided that he wanted to be a teacher of engineering in his home state of Ohio. He never returned to life in the spotlight.

11) Neil won many awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, the Hubbard Medal in 1970, the Congressional Space Medal of Honor in 1978 and the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award. Sadly, Neil died in 2012, but the progress that he made for space travel and our understanding of the Moon is still remembered today!

Image credits: GPA Photo Archive, U.S. Department of State (Public Domain).

Did you enjoy reading our amazing Neil Armstrong facts? Let us know by leaving a comment below!

Likes

LEAVE A COMMENT

THANK YOU

Your comment will be checked and approved shortly.

WELL DONE,
YOUR COMMENT
HAS BEEN ADDED!

COMMENTS

  • bob b

    cool

  • jonny j

    wonderful

  • this helped a lot thank you

  • Lily

    I loved this it helped me with my homework

  • isabelle

    i love learning about neil armstrong.

  • Brains

    Interesting

  • polly

    wow

  • Ben

  • benny

  • Rick Zhao

    This really helped in my project for school!

  • dragon boy

    cool!

  • cool!

  • Cool

  • yourk

    this was the most 2 best one ever seen.

  • Duy nhat

  • hi i am tim

  • Www

  • Wooow

  • hi

    nice

  • Lover of Games

    Cool LOL!!!

  • Skyla

  • Hashem

  • YUAY

    cool

  • Abhishek nepal

    Great man

  • yongyh

    gooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooood

  • yon765

    fun

  • samantha741

  • Abdul Ahad

    Enjoyed reading about Neil Armstrong.

  • Shayla

    This really helped me for my speech of Neil armstrong THANKS!

  • Anthony

    As a student doing a project on Neil Armstrong this helped alot

  • anushka

  • lando

    cool

  • i like it

  • Rethtk8

  • COOL

  • wow

  • chris peacock

  • chrispeacock

    this is cool

  • Ava

    WOW

  • luke

    this is really going to help me on my project

  • Brayden

  • Am

  • David oyemakinde

    great

  • emilym7040

    very intresting

  • ok

  • Zach Wert

    Amazing

  • Moon Landing! – Perryfields Primary School

    […] Neil Armstrong Facts- National Geographic Kids […]

  • Home Learning – 11/5/20 – Year 2 – Miss Brett

    […] https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/space/neil-armstrong-facts/ […]

  • Octopus 2019 | Friday 1st May

    […] Here are some facts https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/space/neil-armstrong-facts/ […]

  • Otter 2019 | Friday 1st May

    […] Here are some facts https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/space/neil-armstrong-facts/ […]

  • Owl 2019 | Friday 1st May

    […] Here are some facts https://www.natgeokids.com/uk/discover/science/space/neil-armstrong-facts/ […]

  • Someone Accidentally

    liked this website

  • miname bob no jeffery

    amazing wok dudes

  • Rhys

    Interesting

  • Camaro/Golf

    Good

  • Poooœ

    My sister and her husband has to work for the week so we will

  • lunareclipes

    interesting

  • Ammika

    Wow so cool ahhhhh

  • Hamon

    The specs are real cool

  • Gosh

  • Ashish Rajendran

    Give some more interesting facts

  • hayley

    i want to go to the moon some day .and i leart a lot about neil armstrong and his crew i leart alot at school to about the first man on the moon thank you so much for shareing this article

  • Amelia

    Cool, i like Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. :)

  • ASHER

    My favourite astronaut is Neil Armstrong.

  • Kaiah

    Awesome! Really Helped Me!

  • cameron

    wow

  • Triforce9

    Awesome it must have been awesome on the moon!

  • Mbfijh

    Cool

  • Gyrados

    Coolish

  • WOWZA!!

  • bailey

    space :) :) :)

  • doglover

    neil looks like my uncle

  • ben

    LETS EAT THE MOON ITS CHEES RIGHT?

  • dolphin

    intresting

  • robert

    I love you I wish I could see you

  • kenworth11

    can i have help

  • manisha126

    The facts are really cool!!

  • tom

    it was really cool

  • Awesome

  • beau

    this website is cool!

  • beau

    this is one of the most interesting sites I have seen!

  • Ek Mcyerush

    When you are faithful you can touch anything it work

  • Markus

    AMAZING! (I knew it already but I want to here more)

  • jemima

    wow

  • james

    love space

  • Solvieg

    I love this website. I love learning new things. This is good for any person with a desire for knowledge.

  • yvonne.blunsden@bigpond.com

    amazing

  • ¨)

    I like the moon I want to go there

  • ll

    cool

  • coco

    amazing. Lets go Neil

  • patrick

    very cool

  • Jacob

    Wooooooooooooooooow

  • kobe

    interesting facts

  • tessica

    the moon is so cool

  • taylor

    wow i want to go on the moon.

  • beau

    good info

  • pink

    you know how I love the best

  • thomas

    very cool

  • bobster

    I love space

  • bobster

    I enjoyed so much reading this article, that I didn't want it to finish. Thank you for sharing!

  • Sophiacorn

    cool

  • I love space

  • Hermione

    I love space

  • At school we are learning about space. It is really fun

  • Lucy

    there are very interesting facts on this page!!!!!!!!!!

  • Peeanut

    Very interesting, i've learnt about this man.

  • talise345

    cool

  • Preslav

    I enjoyed so much reading this article, that I didn't want it to finish. Thank you for sharing! BR, Preslav

  • alicia

    very intresting

  • Eve

    Wow that’s amazing

  • Steve

    FAB!!!

  • Harry.Short

    FAB!!

  • Qklskqks.s,s,s

    Epic!

  • Matt

    Great work, love what you are doing. Keep it up x

  • Izzie

    Really interesting! Learned a lot!

  • Lizzy

    I did not know that Neil was a person

  • Lizzy

    I learnt all about Neil and buzz when I was 5!!!

  • William

    They are my favourite characters!

  • Olivia

    I learnt about Neil and Buzz already!

More Like Space

Space

Facts about the Earth

Learn all about our amazing planet…
Space
SPONSORED

Take part in an out of this world TV show

Does your child and their friends have what it takes to be astronauts?
Space

The Phases of the Moon

Why does the Moon ‘change shape’ each night?
Space
SPONSORED

Share your images with astronauts
in space!

Join Astro Pi Mission Zero to program pictures that’ll appear on the International Space Station (ISS)