Who was the first human to step onto the Moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission in 1969?

The first human to step onto the Moon during NASA’s Apollo 11 mission in 1969 was Neil Armstrong.

Armstrong descended from the Apollo 11 lunar module Eagle on 20 July 1969 and became the first person to walk on the lunar surface. He described the moment as “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Buzz Aldrin joined Armstrong on the Moon about 20 minutes later, while Michael Collins remained in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia. The astronauts collected samples, deployed experiments, and photographed the surface before returning to Earth.

Apollo 11 launched from Florida on 16 July 1969 and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on 24 July. Armstrong had previously served as a naval aviator and test pilot before joining NASA’s astronaut corps.