Most people find astronauts fascinating. Their experience is so far beyond anything most of us can understand or hope to experience ourselves. They have unique stories to tell, none more so than the Apollo astronauts, and especially the Moon-walkers. Top of that list, of course, is Neil Armstrong, the first human to set foot on the moon.

Neil earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from Purdue University in 1955 and then a master’s degree in aerospace engineering from University of Southern California. He took up a job with the Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory of NACA, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in Ohio. He was selected as a NACA pilot to fly the X-15 rocket-engine plane. Once he made a record by attaining an altitude of 207,500 feet and a speed of 3,989 miles per hour.

He was invited by NASA, but it was not until 1962 that Armstrong decided to become an astronaut. His timeline shows that he became America's first non-military astronaut in September 1962. Armstrong’s first assignment was an eight-day mission on Gemini 5 as an alternate for pilot Gordon Cooper. He was later selected as the command pilot for the Gemini 8 mission. He successfully docked two vehicles in space.

He joined NASA's Office of Advanced Research and Technology where he promoted research into computer-controlled aircrafts. In 1971, he resigned from NASA and started working at the University of Cincinnati in Ohio. He served for seven years as a professor of aerospace engineering. He led the government commission to examine the devastating explosion of the Challenger space shuttle. He was a chairman of Computing Technologies for Aviation in Charlottesville. He chaired the AIL Systems. In 2002, he retired from EDO Corporation.