Facts about former US astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon, who has died at the age of 82:l Armstrong grew up in Ohio with a strong interest in flight and earned his pilot’s licence while still a boy.
l After flying combat missions during the Korean War, he became a test pilot and joined Nasa’s astronaut programme in 1962.
l As he stepped on the moon’s dusty surface, Armstrong said: ““That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind.”
l Armstrong’s pulse was measured at 150 beats per minute as he guided the lunar lander to the moon’s surface, Nasa said. Asked about his experience on the moon, he told CBS: “It’s an interesting place to be. I recommend it.”
* A crater on the moon is named for Armstrong. It is located about 30 miles (48km) from the site of the landing.
* Armstrong took a Nasa desk job after the Apollo 11 mission, becoming the deputy associate administrator for aeronautics in the office of advanced research and technology. A year later he became a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinnati.
* In 2005 Armstrong was upset to learn that his barber had sold clippings of his hair to a collector for $3,000. The man who bought the hair refused to return it, saying he was adding it to his collection of locks from Abraham Lincoln, Napoleon, Marilyn Monroe, Albert Einstein and others.
* Despite his taciturn nature, Armstrong once appeared in a television commercial for the US automaker Chrysler. He said he made the ad because of Chrysler’s engineering history and his desire to help the company out of financial troubles.