6th Grade Biographies

Neil Armstrong

By James Dennis

Neil Armstrong was famous for being the first human being to step foot on the lunar surface, however he has also done many other great things in his life and in the field of aeronautics and astronomy. In August 5, 1930 he was born into the small urban sprawl of Wapakoneta, Ohio. He was hooked on aeronautics at the age of eight when he went on an airplane ride. When he was a kid, his neighbor had a high power telescope in his backyard. This caused Neil to become fascinated with space.  At fourteen he took flying lessons, and on his sixteenth birthday he received his piloting license.

WW2 broke out, and around the age of twenty he joined the military and quickly became a US Air Force pilot. He was stationed in Korea, and had completed eighty one missions before the war ended, and he left the army. After the army, he became a civilian test pilot for NASA. As a result he flew the X-15, currently the fastest aircraft ever created going at mach 6 (7,274 kmph) almost reaching outer space and successfully entering orbit, as well as other experimental aircraft. NASA saw Neil Armstrong's skill in flying the X-15, hence they asked him to be the commander for the Gemini 8 mission. At first, Neil Armstrong didn’t like the idea of being an astronaut, but he accepted the mission anyways. In March 16, 1966 he was launched into space along with astronaut David Scott. In this mission he docked with the spacecraft Gemini target vehicle briefly, however during the docking maneuver many problems occurred, so the mission had to end and they conducted an emergency landing. They had successfully  landed in the ocean after hours late. The mission lasted a total of only eleven hours. The crew of Gemini 8 had almost perished in that mission. This mission also resulted in Neil Armstrong being the first civilian astronaut.

His cool and collectiveness during Gemini 8’s emergency had him assigned to be commander of the Apollo 11 mission. He was flying with Michael Collins and Edward E. Buzz Aldrin. They discussed who would be the first to step on the moon, and had come to the conclusion that Neil Armstrong should walk on the moon first. On July 18, Neil Armstrong exited the LEM and was the first human to step foot on the lunar surface. His famous uttering of the words “That’s one small step for [a] man. That’s one giant leap for mankind” on the lunar surface had remarkable imprint on the globe, and this short but sweet quote was known and heard in every household, town, and city that day and will continue to be heard for decades and even centuries to come. The funny thing is, his most memorable quote wasn’t what Neil Armstrong had intended to say. On the way to the moon, and after the crew chose Neil to be the first to walk on the moon, he thought of what he’d say. In an interview, he tells the press that he had intended to say “That’s one small step for a man. One giant leap for mankind” and he could have sworn he said “a.” However, even when slowing down the audio, and after re-listening to it, no one heard “a”. He and the crew returned to Earth safely on July 24.

That was his last mission. After that he retired as an astronaut and did college lectures, and then worked at several different companies that created computers for space exploration. Living a fulfilled life, Neil Armstrong died of long term complications after a heart surgery at age 82, in August 25, 2012. Neil Armstrong was a symbol not for only NASA, or the United States, but was an achievement for all of technology, science, and mankind. He and his achievement will surely be remembered for decades to come.