Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11’s lunar module and became the first person to walk on the Moon.
Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface on July 20, 1969, after Apollo 11’s Eagle module landed in the Sea of Tranquility. Buzz Aldrin followed him about 20 minutes later, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit in the command module Columbia.
The astronauts collected rock and soil samples, deployed scientific instruments, and photographed the surface. Armstrong and Aldrin spent about two and a half hours outside the lunar module before returning to orbit and beginning the journey home.
Armstrong had previously served as a naval aviator and test pilot. He later taught aerospace engineering and largely avoided public celebrity. Yuri Gagarin was the first human in space, not the first person on the Moon.