Scroll down to learn some wonderful facts about the first person to set foot on the moon.

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." - the words Armstrong spoke after putting his left foot on the moon surface.

Neil Armstrong was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer and military pilot; revered as a hero in the field of science. After studying aeronautical engineering at Purdue University, he started working as an engineer and test pilot at National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics or NACA, which later grew as NASA.  He, together with Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, got selected in the Apollo 11 or First Manned Mission To The Moon in 1969. The rest is history which is still being celebrated across the world.

Here are some lesser-known facts about Neil Armstrong:

Neil Armstrong had developed a strong interest in space and flight since childhood. He visited the Clevelander Air Races with his father when he was 2 years old. He got a student pilot's license at the age of 16, even before getting a driver's license.

In childhood, Armstrong suffered from travel sickness, but gradually overcame this.

While studying at Purdue University, he was asked to join the US army as a Navy pilot to fight in the Korean War. He did a commendable job of flying 78 missions over Korea for 121 hours in the air. After that, he returned to the university and completed his education.

The first time Armstrong went to space was for the Gemini 8 mission in 1966. He, together with astronaut David Scott, was a command pilot in this mission. In this mission, they docked two spacecraft in space for the first time.

The trio Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin launched their mission to the moon on 16th July, 1969. On 20th July, Armstrong and Aldrin landed on the surface of the moon. They spent around 2.5 hours there exploring the surface, capturing photographs and collecting samples to examine back at NASA. They returned to Earth on 24th July.

He walked a distance of about 60 meters on the moon's surface.

The astronauts landing on the moon's surface, one of the greatest achievements ever in the history, was watched by over six hundred million people on live television. Also, over a million people listened to it on radio.

The dust materials Armstrong and Aldrin collected from the moon's surface were later sold at an auction for £1.4 million.

Armstrong got literally exhausted after the enormous media attention he received for this mission. So, he retired from NASA in 1971 and became a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.

Neil Armstrong won numerous prestigious awards including the General James E. Lifetime Space Achievement Award.