Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut who became the first person on the moon. Armstrong began his career in the Navy. He then became a test pilot and he applied and was chosen be NASA to be an astronaut in 1962. By 1965 he was part of the Gemini program which was a precursor to the Apollo program. On July 16, 1969 Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins launched Apollo 11 whose destination mom was the moon. They landed on the moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong was the first man out and then Buzz Aldrin followed. They spent 2 ½ hours on the moon. Armstrong decided not to fly in space again but remained active with NASA. Neil Armstrong died August 25, 2012 due to complications from heart surgery. Thousands of years from now history will honor Armstrong as the first human to set foot on a celestial body other than Earth.