Almost anyone alive in the 1960s remembers where they were for the momentous first moon landing. Most people around the world watched on television as Apollo 11, manned by Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and Buzz Aldrin, touched down on the moon on July 20, 1969. When the lunar module, dubbed “The Eagle,” touched down, it was Armstrong who said, “The Eagle has landed,” which has become a pop culture phrase signifying arrival.
After The Eagle landed, Buzz Aldrin radioed NASA and asked for a moment of silence. During this time of silence, Aldrin quietly opened little plastic packages containing bread and wine, silently read a few verses of Scripture and received communion. “It was interesting to think that the first liquid ever poured on the moon and the first food eaten there were the Christian communion,” Aldrin said later. (Guideposts)
Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside some five hours later on July 21, Neil Armstrong stepped out of the Lunar Module, climbed down the ladder, and uttered his famous words, “That’s one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind”
Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930 and he died on August 25, 2012 from complication from surgery to relieve blocked coronary arteries on August 7, 2012. Besides being a NASA astronaut, Armstrong was also a test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator.
President Obama released a statement describing Armstrong as “among the greatest of American heroes – not just of his time, but of all time”
Neil Armstrong will always be remembered as the first person to set foot upon the moon.
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