Pioneers of the Sky

Neil Armstrong

The first man to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, signed this Time magazine cover after he and his Apollo 11 crewmates landed on the lunar surface on July 20, 1969. His quote, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” resonated across the world. An Ohio native, Armstrong was first a naval aviator during the Korean War and later became a test pilot. His first spaceflight was aboard Gemini 8 in 1966, the first mission to suffer a significant in-space failure, which was saved by Armstrong’s quick thinking.