Which astronaut first stepped onto the Moon during Apollo 11 in 1969?

Neil Armstrong was the first astronaut to step onto the Moon during Apollo 11 in 1969.

Apollo 11 launched from Florida on 16 July 1969 with Armstrong, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, and Michael Collins. Armstrong and Aldrin descended to the lunar surface in the Lunar Module Eagle, while Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia.

Armstrong stepped onto the surface on 20 July 1969, followed shortly afterward by Aldrin. The two astronauts spent about two and a half hours outside the lunar module, collecting samples, taking photographs, and deploying scientific instruments. Collins never walked on the Moon, but he was essential to the mission’s return plan.

The mission fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 goal of landing humans on the Moon and returning them safely to Earth before the decade ended. Apollo 11 returned to Earth on 24 July 1969 after the first crewed lunar landing.