The retired astronaut passed away on Saturday (25Aug12) at a hospital in Columbus, Ohio after suffering complications following surgery earlier this month (Aug12) for blocked coronary arteries.
Armstrong made history on 20 July, 1969 when he stepped from the Apollo 11’s Lunar Module onto the face of the Moon, infamously stating, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.
He was followed by his fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin, and together the pair spent three hours exploring the Moon’s surface, signalling a new dawn in space travel and pioneering the way for further Moon landings.
Armstrong got his taste for air travel as a young boy, and he went on to fly fighter jets during the 1950s Korean War before joining the U.S. space program in 1962.
He was given a string of U.S. honours following his historic space mission, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal last year (11).
