My Report On Neil Armstrong By Asmah

Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut and the first man to walk on the moon.

Neil Armstrong  was born on August 5, 1930 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. His love for flying started at a young age when his father took him to an air show. From then on his goal was to become a pilot. At the age of 15, he got his pilot's license.

Armstrong went to Purdue University and earned his bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. He later got his masters degree at the University of Southern California. During college, Neil was called up by the Navy and became a fighter pilot. He fought in the Korean War where he flew fighters from aircraft carriers. At one point his plane was hit by enemy fire, but he was able to eject and was safely rescued.



After graduating from college, Neil Armstrong became a test pilot. He flew all sorts of experimental planes testing them out to see how well they flew. It was a dangerous job, but very exciting. He flew over 200 different types of aircraft during his career.

Neil Armstrong applied to become an astronaut and in September of 1962 he was selected for the NASA Astronaut Corps. He had to go through a series of harsh physical tests, but he passed and was soon part of the "new nine", or second group of nine NASA astronauts.

Neil Armstrong's first trip into space was aboard the Gemini 8. He was the command pilot of the spaceship and piloted the first successful docking of two vehicles in space. The mission was cut short, however, when the spaceships began to roll.


On December 23, 1968 Neil was offered the command of the Apollo 11. This would be the first manned landing on the Moon. This was an exciting time for the entire country. The United States was in a race with the Soviet Union to put the first man on the Moon. If the flight was successful, Armstrong would be that man.



After months of practice and preparation, the Apollo 11 spacecraft launched from Kennedy Space Centre in Florida on July 16, 1969. There was one frightening moment in the flight were Armstrong had to take over manual control of the landing. This wasn’t the plan, and if the landing took too long, would leave the crew short on fuel. The landing was successful and they had around 40 seconds of fuel remaining. Upon landing Armstrong said "Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed."

After landing,Neil Armstrong was the first to leave the craft and walk on the Moon. The historic date was July 21, 1969. His famous words upon being the first man on the Moon were "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind". Buzz Aldrin also walked on the Moon during this trip. They collected Moon rocks and were on the Moon for over 21 hours. While the lunar module, named the Eagle, was on the Moon, the third astronaut, Michael Collins, orbited the Moon in the command module.

The three pilots arrived back on Earth on July 24th. They landed in the Pacific Ocean and returned heroes.




After the Apollo 11 flight, Neil held many positions with NASA. He also worked as a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

Neil Armstrong died on August 25 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.A. He was 82 years old.

Neil Armstrong will always remembered for his achievements and his bravery.