Which astronaut first stepped onto the Moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission?

Neil Armstrong was the first astronaut to step onto the Moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission. He descended from the lunar module Eagle on July 21, 1969, Universal Time.

Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed in the Sea of Tranquility, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. Armstrong stepped onto the surface first, followed by Aldrin about 19 minutes later. The astronauts collected samples, deployed instruments, photographed the site, and spent roughly two and a half hours outside the lunar module.

Apollo 11 launched from Florida on July 16, 1969, and returned to Earth on July 24. It fulfilled President John F. Kennedy’s goal of landing humans on the Moon and returning them safely before the end of the 1960s.

A frequent mistake is naming Collins, who was essential to the mission but never landed. Aldrin was the second person on the Moon, not the first.