Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids – 5 Astonishing Facts about Neil Armstrong

What did Neil Armstrong ate on his mission to the Moon? Let’s discover five astonishing Neil Armstrong facts for kids.

Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids Fact Number 1: Neil Armstrong Was The First Human to Walk on The Moon

He is best known for being the first person to walk on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. While on the moon his second in command Buzz Aldrin also walked on the moon. A third member of their team was a man called Michael Collins, he stayed in the command module orbiting the moon to make sure they were able to take off from the moon safely afterwards. There are famous pictures of the first footprint made on the surface of the moon and we know that Neil Armstrong placed his left foot on the moon first.

Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids Fact Number 2: Neil Armstrong Learned How to Fly a Plane When He Was 16 Years Old

Neil Armstrong was interested in flying from a very young age and was fascinated by aerospace engineering, which is the study of how aircrafts fly. When he was 16 he was legally allowed to learn how to fly a plane and took up lessons straight away. He learned how to fly a plane before he knew how to drive a car. Armstrong also joined the air force before working for NASA. 

Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids Fact Number 3: The Astronauts on The Moon Ate Bacon and Apple Sauce

Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin had four meals while on the moon which all had to be preserved for space travel. They had beef and vegetables served from a packet which was heated up using hot water. They also had cubes of bacon and even had a desert of apple sauce. Deserts were common in space travel and the astronauts on Apollo 11 even brought brownies into space. They were on the moon for almost an entire day. They had food when they arrived on the moon and even slept for 7 of the 21 hours they were on the moon.

Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids Fact Number 4: Neil Armstrong Became a Teacher After His Trip to The Moon

Neil Armstrong became famous for his voyage to the moon but he wanted a quieter life away from the spotlight, so he became a teacher. He taught as a professor of aerospace engineering at the University of Cincinnati for 8 years. He was able to take what he learned from his extraordinary trip to the moon and use it to teach future engineers.

Neil Armstrong Facts for Kids Fact Number 5: Neil Armstrong Wasn’t Meant to Be The First Man on The Moon

In NASA missions protocol means that the commander of the mission stays inside the landing craft while the second in command takes the first journey out of the craft. This means that Buzz Aldrin should have been the first man to step foot on the moon as he was the lunar module pilot and second in command. However, when they arrived on the moon the door to the hatch opened on Armstrong’s side of the lunar module meaning he was closest to the door and so he became the first man on the moon.

We hope you enjoyed learning more things about Neil Armstrong as much as we loved teaching you about them. Now that you know how majestic this person is, you can move on to learn about Space like: The Universe, Asteroids and Meteors.

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