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40 Years On, Armstrong Remains an Enigma

By Jason Farago,  Newser Staff

Posted Jul 20, 2009 6:45 AM CDT
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(Newser) – Forty years ago today Neil Armstrong strode across the surface of the moon and became the most famous man in the galaxy. Then he disappeared—leaving NASA for a university job, attending almost no public functions, and refusing nearly all interview requests. "Neil was very much the same person after Apollo 11 as he was before it," a space historian tells the Washington Post. "The pragmatism, the modesty, the shyness were there from an early age."

Some speculate that Armstrong's caution and reticence led commanders to pick him over Buzz Aldrin as the first man to leave the spacecraft. Privately, he has confided to colleagues that he never wanted his whole career to be reduced to one two-hour walk. Yesterday he made a rare public appearance at a NASA ceremony, at which Aldrin and Michael Collins both called for a return to the moon. Armstrong didn't—saying simply, "The future is difficult to foresee."

A 1969 photo of Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin after returning from the moon on Apollo 11.
A 1969 photo of Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins and Buzz Aldrin after returning from the moon on Apollo 11.   (AP Photo/ThinkFilm)
Neil Armstrong speaks during a rare public lecture in honor of Apollo 11 at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington yesterday.
Neil Armstrong speaks during a rare public lecture in honor of Apollo 11 at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington yesterday.   (AP Photo/Bill Ingalls/NASA)
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and former Johnson Space Center director Chris Kraft at the National Air and Space Museum.
On the eve of the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11's moon landing, Buzz Aldrin, Michael Collins, Neil Armstrong and former Johnson Space Center director Chris Kraft at the National Air and Space Museum.   (AP Photo/Bill Ingalls/NASA)
Neil Armstrong, left, and Buzz Aldrin place an American flag on the surface of the moon, near the lunar lander that brought them to the lunar surface.
Neil Armstrong, left, and Buzz Aldrin place an American flag on the surface of the moon, near the lunar lander that brought them to the lunar surface.   (AP Photo/NASA, file)
Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong at a ticker tape parade in New York, August 13, 1969.
Michael Collins, Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong at a ticker tape parade in New York, August 13, 1969.   (AP Photo/Eddie Adams, file)
Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, is seen inside the Lunar Module while it rested on the surface of the moon.
Neil Armstrong, Apollo 11 commander, is seen inside the Lunar Module while it rested on the surface of the moon.   (AP Photo/NASA, file)
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COMMENTS
Showing 3 of 10 comments
Timinator2K
Jul 21, 2009 8:11 AM CDT
MARS 2020!
schmidtkoff
Jul 20, 2009 12:50 PM CDT
come down to earth and solve the problems here. is space exploration that much more necessary?
ListenEllipse
Jul 20, 2009 11:55 AM CDT
Maybe he's still embarrassed about messing up his first words on the moon.
Science • Lifestyle • US

 
NASA • space exploration • astronauts • moon • Buzz Aldrin • moon landings • Neil Armstrong • Apollo 11

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