Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
The man who made history when he was the first to walk on the moon has died at age 82. Here is a look back at his time as an astronaut and some celebrations.
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Edwin E. "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. poses for a photograph beside the U.S. flag deployed on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission on July 20, 1969. Aldrin and fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong were the first men to walk on the lunar surface with temperatures ranging from 243 degrees above to 279 degrees below zero. Astronaut Michael Collins flew the command module. The trio was launched to the moon by a Saturn V launch vehicle at 9:32 a.m. EDT, July 16, 1969. They departed the moon July 21, 1969. (AP Photo/NASA/Neil A. Armstrong)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 Astronaut Neil Armstrong, his wife, Jan and sons, Ricky and Mark, are engulfed by ticker tape as they rode down Houston's Main Street in the parade honoring the astronauts, Aug. 16, 1969, Houston, Tex. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 spaceflight commander and the first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong, center, is shown with his fellow spacemen, Edwin Buzz Aldrin, center, and Michael Collins arrived back, July 27, 1969, Houston, Tex. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong, right, trudges across the surface of the moon leaving behind footprints, July 20, 1969. The U.S. flag, planted on the surface by the astronauts, can be seen between Armstrong and the lunar module. Edwin E. Aldrin is seen closer to the craft. The men reported the surface of the moon was like soft sand and they left footprints several inches deep wherever they walked. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil A. Armstrong at Complex 19 for a simulated test in preparation for flight, March 16, 1966. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong, right, the first man to step foot on the moon, gestures as President Bill Clinton looks on during a White House ceremony celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Apollo 11th flight to the Moon, Wednesday, July 20, 1994, Washington, D.C. Twenty-five-years ago, two men from Earth, bundled like space aliens, set foot on the moon for the first time and planted the American flag. (AP Photo/Marcy Nighswander)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
A smiling Neil A. Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 flight which will land him on the moon, digs into his pre-flight breakfast steak, July 16, 1969, Cape Kennedy, Fla. Armstrong will take man�s first steps on the moon if the Apollo 11 flight goes as scheduled. (AP Photo/Pool)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Aldrin Jr. appeared in a cheerful mood as they left the Manned Spacecraft Operations Building to enter the transfer van that takes them to Pad 39 where they will enter their spacecraft looking forward to a moon landing, July 16, 1969, Cape Kennedy, Fla. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong wave to the thousands of area and hometown folks who are cheering him on Sept. 6, 1969 in honor of being the first man to walk on the moon. The big parade and other festivities were held in Wapakoneta, Ohio, where Armstrong was born and raised. Armstrong�s two sons, Eric, 12, and Mark, 6, ride with him. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Gemini 8 Command Pilot Neil Armstrong, left, presses his hands together in prayerful attitude as he and his co-pilot, David Scott, returned to scene of their blast-off, March 19, 1966, Cape Kennedy, Fla. Armstrong told a small welcoming group that they "had a magnificent flight for the first seven hours and we were very pleased with the way it came out." The flight ended ahead of schedule after their docking with an unmanned Agena space vehicle. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, sitting atop a convertible, greets a hometown folk as he arrives at the Wapakoneta High School to start a round of homecoming festivities on Sept. 6, 1969. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in a farm house just outside Wapakoneta, Ohio. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who made history by being the first man to walk on the moon, tries his hand at singing as he joins the All-Ohio Youth Choir in a song during his homecoming festivities, Sept. 6, 1969 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. His father, Stephen, joins in the song at right. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronauts David Scott, left, and Neil Armstrong walk down a corridor of Tripler General Hospital in Honolulu, HI, March 18, 1966 for a night�s rest before continuing their journey from Okinawa to Cape Kennedy to report on the emergency that brought an abrupt end to their space flight in Gemini 8. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong in space suit in 1969. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 spaceflight commander and first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong, blows a kiss to his sons, Eric, 12, and Mark, 6, who were on hand to welcome home their famous dad when the astronauts arrived at Ellington AFB, Houston, Tex., on July 27, 1969. Armstrong fellow space travelers, Michael Collins, left, and Edwin E. Aldrin, right, wait to chat with their families. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Norman Isaacs, left, outgoing President of the American Society of Newspaper Editors makes a point in a conversation with Astronaut Neil Armstrong first man to walk on the moon, Thursday, May 15, 1970, San Francisco, Calif. Armstrong spoke at an ASNE banquet a short time later. (AP Photo/Robert W. Klein)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronauts David R. Scott, pilot, left, and Neil A. Armstrong, command pilot, sit in their Gemini 8 spacecraft atop their booster at Cape Kennedy, Fla., March 16, 1966. One of the objectives of the scheduled three-day mission is to rendezvous and dock with the Gemini Agena target vehicle (GATV). The Gemini VIII spacecraft was launched at 11:41 a.m. EST. (AP Photo/NASA)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Mark Armstrong, 2 1/2 , reaches out to attract his dad's attention after Gemini 8 spacecraft pilots Neil Armstrong and David Scott arrived back home in Houston, Tex., on March 21, 1966. Mrs. Armstrong holds the youngster as Donald K. Slayton, assistant director of Manned Spacecraft Center flight crew operations, waits to congratulate Armstrong. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, right, is shown with his family tonight after his arrival at his parents home on Sept. 5, 1969 in Wapakoneta, Ohio. This is his first trip home since his historic walk on the moon. With him, l-r: Stephen Armstrong, father, Neil's wife, Janet, his mother, and two children, Mark, left, 6, and Eric, 12. A big homecoming celebration is planned for tomorrow. (AP Photo/JP)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Alan Shepard, left, cuts short questioning of Gemini 8's Neil Armstrong, center, and David R. Scott as they arrive, March 19, 1966 at Cape Kennedy, Florida, scene of start of their flight in which they ran into trouble after they successfully docked with an Agena space vehicle. The two astronauts refused to discuss details of what went wrong during the flight. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Neil Armstrong, the first man to put a foot on the moon, is passing by the Eiffel Tower while enjoying a boat trip on the River Seine in Paris on Tuesday, July 10, 1979. Neil Armstrong is in Paris to take part in a TV-show celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first walk on the moon. (AP Photo/Taylor)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, sitting atop a convertible, waves to a crowd of hometown folks as he arrives, Sept. 6, 1969 at the Wapakoneta High School to start a round of homecoming festivities. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, was born in a farm house just outside Wapakoneta, Ohio. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Astronaut Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander and the first man known to walk on the moon, center, receives the order of Magellan award of the circumnavigators club during club�s luncheon at the Essex House,May 4, 1971, New York. Mrs. Jan Armstrong watches as Hubby gets the decoration from club President Charles O. Blaisdell. (AP Photo/John Rooney)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong walks slowly away from the lunar module to explore the surface of the moon, July 20, 1969. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong: First man on the moon
Photo shows Neil A. Armstrong, on April 17, 1964, when he was an X15 pilot. (AP Photo)
Neil Armstrong was a quiet, self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when as a steely-nerved pilot he made "one giant leap for m…
These are just some of the well-known figures — sports stars, musicians, actors and leaders — who left this world during 2012.
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