U.S. space exploration history on U.S. stamps the multi-color Giori Press. Quantities issued totaled more than 187 million. The Apollo 11 mission landed the first humans on the Moon. Launched on July 16, 1969, the third lunar mission of NASA's Apollo Program was crewed by Commander Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin E. 'Buzz' Aldrin, Jr. On July 20, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the Moon, while Collins orbited in the Command Module. The Apollo 11 mission reached President John F. Kennedy's goal of putting a man on the Moon's surface by the end of
First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong to that airport." The young Armstrong becomes a naval aviator. Management of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) takes an interest in Armstrong's combination of calmness and personal skill coupled with his above-average intellect. Although contrasting somewhat with many of his colleagues, the Apollo 11 crew winding up as "amiable strangers", he attracts widespread respect. The fact that Armstrong gets chosen to be "first down" on the lunar surface is a surprise, with astronaut Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. being expected to get priority. The mission itself proceeds spectacularly well, and Armstrong gives his famous line: "That's one small step