Neil Armstrong

Neil Armstrong earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering in 1955, before joining NASA as an experimental research pilot. He became an astronaut in 1962 and served as command pilot for Gemini 8 in 1966, carrying a ceremonial Purdue flag into space. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong made history by becoming the first person to set foot on the moon, uttering the iconic words, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Armstrong received an honorary doctorate from Purdue in 1970. Today at Purdue, the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering is named for him, adorned with a statue at its entrance and preserving his footprints from that momentous first moonwalk.