Neil Armstrong A Murit

[+GodsOtherHand]

When, in July 1969, Neil Armstrong, who has died aged 82, made his celebrated "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" by becoming the first human being to walk on the moon, he was indeed the "reluctant hero" of his family's apt description.

As the commander of the US Apollo 11 spacecraft, in which he was accompanied by Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, the pilot of the Eagle lunar landing module and Michael Collins, pilot of the Columbia command module, he became the first man on the moon because he had arrived at the head of the queue of around 20 highly experienced and motivated astronauts. They had been taking it in turns to conduct the 22 manned spaceflights needed to learn the techniques for travelling to the Earth's nearest neighbour – an objective he pursued with great seriousness.

Armstrong is survived by his second wife, Carol, and by two sons from his first marriage, which ended in divorce.

• Neil Alden Armstrong, astronaut, born 5 August 1930; died 25 August 2012

• This footnote was appended on 28 August 2012. There is, in fact, one photograph of Armstrong on the moon. An image of Armstrong working on the base of the lunar module in the Sea of Tranquility bears the following agency caption: The Moon -- 20 Jul 1969 -- Apollo 11 astronauts trained on Earth to take individual photographs in succession in order to create a series of frames that could be assembled into panoramic images. This frame from Aldrin's panorama of the Apollo 11 landing site is the only good picture of mission commander Neil Armstrong on the lunar surface -- Picture by Edwin Aldrin/Lightroom Photos/NASA

Mai multe detalii aici: http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2012/aug/26/neil-armstrong