Neil Armstrong was born on August 5,1930, in Ohio, and had two younger siblings, June and Dean. Neil's father worked for the Ohio State government, because of his job, the family had to move many times - in fact, they moved sixteen times before Neil was thirteen!
When Neil was a little boy, he was fascinated by airplane and flying. When he was five, he experienced his first airplane flight, also known as the "Tin Goose", Neil's father confessed that he had been "scared to death". As for Neil, he had enjoyed every minute. Neil read airplane magazines; he drew detailed sketches of his favorite planes. :earning about planes, however, wasn't the same as learning to fly planes. And that's what Neil wanted to do most of all.
As a teenager Neil took part-time job to pay for flying lessons, ha had earned his pilot's license when he was fifteen. He wanted to study aeronautic engineering, he was able to attend Purdue University on a Navy scholarship, in return for the scholarship money, Neil had to serve in the U.S. Navy. This arrangement was fine with Neil. In the Navy, he could fly planes! After two years at Purdue came three years in the Navy, and then The Korean War had broken out, the war sent Neil halfway across the globe. During The Korean War, Neil flew on seventy-eight missions. It was a dangerous and stressful job, but Neil never lost his cool.
When he returned to Purdue, he was twenty-two and older than most students, during his last two years at Purdue, his grades improved greatly. He also fell in love with an outgoing girl-Janet, they were married in several months after Neil's graduation. Neil wanted to work in California, so they moved there, this meant Janet had to leave Purdue without finishing her degree.
In 1957, Neil's first son was born, and two tears later, they and a little girl, Neil was especially close to his little daughter. Unfortunately, his daughter had cancer and died in January of 1962. A few months after his daughter died, Neil made a big decision, the decision changed the rest of his life. He applied to become an astronaut.
In 1962, NASA decided to bring more astronauts into the space program, especially wanted test pilots and men with engineering backgrounds, Neil Armstrong met all the qualifications. On September 17,1962, nine men were chosen, Neil was one of them. The Armstrongs moved to El Lago, Texas, near the NASA space center in Houston, all their neighbors were in the space program, too. There were lots of backyard barbecues with the other astronaut families. After recent death of Neil's daughter, it was a much happier time for the Armstrongs.
Sometimes, the training exercises seemed to have nothing to do with space flight. For example Neil was sent to a jungle or a desert, why? The reason was simple, astronauts had to be able to survive until rescued. Finally, in July 16,1969, Armstrong's second and last spaceflight was as mission commander of the Apollo 11 moon landing. Neil and Buzz descended to the lunar surface and spent two and a half hours exploring. Because Neil was commander of the mission, NASA awarded him the honor of stepping onto the moon first, When Neil climbed down the ladder, he gave his words to all over the world. The message was " That's one small step for a man, on giant leap for mankind."
After that, NASA didn't have plans to send more people to the moon since 1972. The first trip to the moon remains an important event, a great human achievement.
Neil Armstrong died on August 25, 2012, at the age of 82.
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