Was Neil Armstrong really the first to walk on the moon?

At 10:56 p.m. EDT Neil Armstrong is ready to plant the first human foot on another world. With more than half a billion people watching on television, he climbs down the ladder and proclaims: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. read more

Neil Armstrong steps on to the surface of the moon on 20 July 1969 before uttering one of the world's most famous sentences. Photograph: AP/Press Association Images It is perhaps the most famous phrase ever uttered by a human being, a form of words which instantly summed up the meaning of an extraordinary moment in the history of the human race. read more

In attendance were Armstrong's Apollo 11 crewmates, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin; Gene Cernan, the Apollo 17 mission commander and last man to walk on the Moon; and former Senator and astronaut John Glenn, the first American to orbit the Earth. read more

Neil Armstrong was a NASA astronaut most famous for being the first person to walk on the moon, on July 20, 1969. An accomplished test pilot, Armstrong also flew on the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. He retired from NASA in 1971 and remained active in the aerospace community, although he chose to keep mostly out of the public spotlight. read more