Project Mercury also excluded civilian NASA X-15 pilot Neil Armstrong, though he had been selected by the US Air Force in 1958 for its Man In Space Soonest program, which was replaced by Mercury. Although Armstrong had been a combat-experienced NAP during the Korean War, he left active duty in 1952. Armstrong became NASA's first civilian astronaut in 1962 when he was selected for NASA's second group, and became the first man on the Moon in 1969. It was further stipulated that candidates should be between 25 and 40 years old, no taller than , and hold a college degree in a
Perry A. Armstrong Perry A. Armstrong Perry Austin Armstrong (April 15, 1823 – December 23, 1904) was a business person, surveyor, attorney, two-time member of the Illinois House of Representatives and historian. Born in Ohio and raised in southern Illinois, he spent most of his adult life in Morris, Illinois. Armstrong was born in Licking County, Ohio and came to Illinois with his mother and brothers in 1831, initially settling at Sand Prairie. During the Black Hawk War, the family retreated for a period of time to Morris, which was to be his future permanent home. He attended Granville Academy, and spent two