Who was the first person on moon

Today marks the pivotal moment the Apollo 11 mission blasted off from Earth 50 years ago to land on the moon just four days later.

This monumental move put astronaut Neil Armstrong firmly on the map in history as he became the first person to ever walk on the moon.

On Saturday, July 20, events will take place across the world to commemorate the team who took part in NASA's pioneering 225,623-mile journey.

On the mission, Armstrong was joined by American astronaut Michael Collins and lunar module pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin - who was the second pilot to walk on the surface, just 20 minutes after Armstrong.

With lots of talk about the Apollo 11's 50th anniversary, let's get to know the main man himself. Here's everything you need to know about Neil Armstrong.

When was Neil Armstrong born?

Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio, on August 5 in 1930.

How did his career start?

He studied aeronautical engineering at university, with his tuition paid for by the U.S Navy under the Holloway Plan.

Armstrong went on to join the Navy, as first a midshipman then a naval aviator. He partook in the Korean War, flying one of the US Navy's first successful carrier-based fighter jets - the Grumman F9F Panther.

Post war, Armstrong completed a bachelor's degree to become a test pilot at NASA's high speed flight station in California. He was selected as an astronaut in 1962.

He fulfilled various roles within the space agency before making his first spaceflight as a command pilot in March 1966, becoming NASA's first civilian astronaut to fly in space.

Three years later he embarked on the historic Apollo 11 mission as commander.

What were his first words on the moon?

The iconic words that still ring in people's ears today after all of those years:

"That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind."

When did he resign?

Armstrong resigned from NASA in 1971 and began to teach in the department for Aerospace Engineering at the University of Cincinnati up until 1979.

He then served on the Apollo 13 accident investigation - this was the seventh crewed mission in the space programme, which was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days after launching.

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Armstrong met his first wife Janet Elizabeth Shearon whilst at university.

The couple married in January 1956, but separated in 1990.

They had three children together - Eric, Karen and Mark. Sadly daughter Karen was diagnosed with a brain tumour and died of pneumonia in 1962 at the age of just two.

Armstrong met his second wife Carol Held Knight in 1992 and were married by 1994.

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When did Armstrong die?

Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, aged 82.

He underwent a heart bypass operation and died a few weeks later from complications resulting from the procedure.

Shortly after his death, his family released a statement: "For those who may ask what they can do to honor Neil, we have a simple request. Honor his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."

On July 20, 1969, American astronauts Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (1930-) became the first humans ever to land on the moon. About six-and-a-half hours later, Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon. As he took his first step, Armstrong famously said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." The Apollo 11 mission occurred eight years after President John F. Kennedy (1917-1963) announced a national goal of landing a man on the moon by the end of the 1960s. Apollo 17, the final manned moon mission, took place in 1972.

WATCH: Moon Landing: The Lost Tapes on HISTORY Vault 

JFK's Pledge Leads to Start of Apollo Program

The American effort to send astronauts to the moon had its origins in an appeal President Kennedy made to a special joint session of Congress on May 25, 1961: "I believe this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to Earth." 

At the time, the United States was still trailing the Soviet Union in space developments, and Cold War-era America welcomed Kennedy's bold proposal. In 1966, after five years of work by an international team of scientists and engineers, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) conducted the first unmanned Apollo mission, testing the structural integrity of the proposed launch vehicle and spacecraft combination. 

Then, on January 27, 1967, tragedy struck at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, when a fire broke out during a manned launch-pad test of the Apollo spacecraft and Saturn rocket. Three astronauts were killed in the fire.

READ MORE: How Landing on the Moon Cost Dozens of Lives

Howard C. “Tick” Lilly was the first NACA engineering pilot to break the sound barrier but also the first NACA pilot to die int he line of duty. On May 3, 1948, Lilly’s Douglas D-558-1’s engine compressor failed, severing control cables, and the airplane crashed. 

NASA

Capt. Glen W. Edwards, pictured center here, was among 5 men killed in the experimental "Flying Wing" aircraft. The California Edwards Air Force Base is named after him.

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Theodore Freeman, a member of the first group of 14 Apollo astronauts, died in October 1964 when a flock of geese was sucked into the engine of his T-38 training aircraft near Houston.

Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images

In February 1966, astronauts Elliot See and Charles Bassett crashed during bad weather on approach to Lambert Field in St. Louis.

NASA

On January 27, 1967, the crew of Apollo 1 died in a cockpit fire  while strapped into their command module during launch testing at the Kennedy Space Center.

NASA

The crew included (L-R) Gus Grissom, Ed White and Roger Chaffee.

NASA

President Richard Nixon spoke with Armstrong and Aldrin via a telephone radio transmission shortly after they planted the American flag on the lunar surface. Nixon considered it the "most historic phone call ever made from the White House."

Despite the setback, NASA and its thousands of employees forged ahead, and in October 1968, Apollo 7, the first manned Apollo mission, orbited Earth and successfully tested many of the sophisticated systems needed to conduct a moon journey and landing. 

In December of the same year, Apollo 8 took three astronauts to the far side of the moon and back, and in March 1969 Apollo 9 tested the lunar module for the first time while in Earth orbit. That May, the three astronauts of Apollo 10 took the first complete Apollo spacecraft around the moon in a dry run for the scheduled July landing mission.

READ MORE: When Apollo 10 Nearly Crashed Into the Moon

Timeline of the 1969 Moon Landing

At 9:32 a.m. EDT on July 16, with the world watching, Apollo 11 took off from Kennedy Space Center with astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins (1930-) aboard. Armstrong, a 38-year-old civilian research pilot, was the commander of the mission.

After traveling 240,000 miles in 76 hours, Apollo 11 entered into a lunar orbit on July 19. The next day, at 1:46 p.m., the lunar module Eagle, manned by Armstrong and Aldrin, separated from the command module, where Collins remained. Two hours later, the Eagle began its descent to the lunar surface, and at 4:17 p.m. the craft touched down on the southwestern edge of the Sea of Tranquility. Armstrong immediately radioed to Mission Control in Houston, Texas, a now-famous message: "The Eagle has landed."

At 10:39 p.m., five hours ahead of the original schedule, Armstrong opened the hatch of the lunar module. As he made his way down the module's ladder, a television camera attached to the craft recorded his progress and beamed the signal back to Earth, where hundreds of millions watched in great anticipation. 

At 10:56 p.m., as Armstrong stepped off the ladder and planted his foot on the moon’s powdery surface, he spoke his famous quote, which he later contended was slightly garbled by his microphone and meant to be "that's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind."

READ MORE: Apollo 11 Moon Landing Timeline: From Liftoff to Splashdown

Aldrin joined him on the moon's surface 19 minutes later, and together they took photographs of the terrain, planted a U.S. flag, ran a few simple scientific tests and spoke with President Richard Nixon (1913-94) via Houston. 

By 1:11 a.m. on July 21, both astronauts were back in the lunar module and the hatch was closed. The two men slept that night on the surface of the moon, and at 1:54 p.m. the Eagle began its ascent back to the command module. Among the items left on the surface of the moon was a plaque that read: "Here men from the planet Earth first set foot on the moon—July 1969 A.D.—We came in peace for all mankind."

At 5:35 p.m., Armstrong and Aldrin successfully docked and rejoined Collins, and at 12:56 a.m. on July 22 Apollo 11 began its journey home, safely splashing down in the Pacific Ocean at 12:50 p.m. on July 24.

How Many Times Did the US Land on the Moon?

This is an image of Buzz Aldrin's bootprint from the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, one of the first steps taken on the Moon.

NASA

Apollo 12 astronaut Charles "Pete" Conrad stands beside the United States flag after is was unfurled on the lunar surface during the first extravehicular activity (EVA-1), on November 19, 1969. Several footprints made by the crew can be seen in the photograph.

NASA

A front view of the Apollo 14 Lunar Module "Antares", which reflects a circular flare caused by the brilliant sun. The unusual ball of light was said by the astronauts to have a jewel-like appearance.

NASA

Astronaut James B. Irwin, Lunar Module pilot, works at the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the first Apollo 15 lunar surface extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Hadley-Apennine landing site. This view is looking northeast, with Mount Hadley in the background.

NASA

Astronaut Charles M. Duke Jr., Lunar Module pilot of the Apollo 16 mission, is photographed collecting lunar samples at Station no. 1 during the first Apollo 16 extravehicular activity at the Descartes landing site. Duke is standing at the rim of Plum crater, which is 40 meters in diameter and 10 meters deep. 

NASA

Astronaut Eugene A. Cernan, Apollo 17 mission commander, makes a short checkout of the Lunar Roving Vehicle during the early part of the first Apollo 17 extravehicular activity (EVA-1) at the Taurus-Littrow landing site. This view of the "stripped down" Rover is prior to loadup. The mountain in the right background is the East end of South Massif.

NASA

There would be five more successful lunar landing missions, and one unplanned lunar swing-by. Apollo 13 had to abort its lunar landing due to technical difficulties. The last men to walk on the moon, astronauts Eugene Cernan (1934-2017) and Harrison Schmitt (1935-) of the Apollo 17 mission, left the lunar surface on December 14, 1972. 

The Apollo program was a costly and labor-intensive endeavor, involving an estimated 400,000 engineers, technicians and scientists, and costing $24 billion (close to $100 billion in today's dollars). The expense was justified by Kennedy's 1961 mandate to beat the Soviets to the moon, and after the feat was accomplished, ongoing missions lost their viability.

READ MORE: How Many Times Has the U.S. Landed on the Moon?