American National Biography Online http://www.anb.org/articles/13/13-02689-print.html[12/22/2015 11:32:04 AM] unconsciousness and death, Armstrong regained control using a system intended for use during reentry and guided his craft to a safe landing in the Pacific. Back in the crew rotation, Armstrong served as backup commander of both the Gemini XI and Apollo VIII missions before being selected as the commander of Apollo XI in December 1967. If all went as planned, Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin would become the first men to walk on the moon, while Michael Collins would orbit overhead in the command module. In addition to long days in the crew simulator, Armstrong practiced flying a Lunar Landing Training Vehicle, which he had helped to develop. Powered by a vertically mounted jet engine, with thrusters for control, the LLTV allowed an astronaut to practice techniques for landing on the moon. On 6 May 1968 Armstrong was one hundred feet in the air aboard the craft when the control system failed. He ejected at the last possible minute. A Saturn V rocket boosted the crew of Apollo XI off launch pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on the morning of 16 July 1969. Four days later Armstrong and Aldrin entered the Lunar Module Eagle, separated from the Command Module Columbia and began their descent to the surface. As they were dropping toward the moon, a series of alarms sounded. Mission control advised that they could safely be ignored. Realizing that they were going to land beyond their planned target area, Armstrong took control of the descent, skimming over the surface of the Sea of Tranquility in search of a boulder-free area for landing. "Houston," Armstrong reported when safely on the surface, "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." Some four and one half hours after landing Armstrong stepped from the landing pad on the Lunar Module to the surface, announcing, "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind." The astronauts spent two hours and thirty-six minutes walking on the moon. They planted the flag, set up scientific experiments, spoke to President Nixon, and collected over fifty pounds of lunar rocks. Preparing for lift- off from the moon they discovered that the switch that would activate the ascent motor to carry them back up to rendezvous with the Command Module had snapped off. Aldrin activated the switch with the tip of a pen. The returning astronauts were greeted with celebrations across the nation and undertook a "Giant Leap" world tour. Announcing that he would not return to space, Armstrong accepted an administrative post with Advanced Research Projects Agency and earned an M.S. in engineering from the University of Southern California. He taught aeronautical engineering at the University of Cincinnati from 1971 to 1979, after which he consulted with aerospace firms, served on a number of corporate boards, and participated in the panel studying the destruction of the Space Shuttle Challenger in 1986. Separated from his wife in 1989 and later divorced, he married Carol Held Knight in 1994. Neil Armstrong died of complications from vascular bypass surgery in a Cincinnati hospital. His cremated remains were buried at sea with a ceremony aboard the USS Philippine Sea. Neil Armstrong will always be remembered as the first human being to set foot on another world, but he had another view of himself. "I am and ever will be a white socks, pocket protector nerdy engineer," as he explained in a February 2000 address to the National Press Club. "And I take substantial pride in the accomplishments of my profession." (Hansen, p. 602) Bibliography Neil Armstrong's papers are held by the Archives and Special Collections Division of Purdue University. James R. Hansen, First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong (2005) is a fine biography. First on the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. (1970) tells the story of Apollo XI from the points of view of all three astronauts. Michael Collings, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's American National Biography Online http://www.anb.org/articles/13/13-02689-print.html[12/22/2015 11:32:04 AM] Journeys (1974) and Edwin Aldrin and Malcolm McConnell, Men From Earth (1980), offer a view of Neil Armstrong through the eyes of his fellow Apollo XI astronauts. An obituary appeared in the New York Times on 25 August 2012. Tom D. Crouch Back to the top Citation: Tom D. Crouch. "Armstrong, Neil"; http://www.anb.org/articles/13/13-02689.html; American National Biography Online October 2015 Update. Access Date: Tue Dec 22 2015 11:32:04 GMT-0500 (Eastern Standard Time) Copyright © 2015 American Council of Learned Societies. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy.