Neil Armstrong has certainly led an interesting life and not all of his accomplishments and experiences have dealt with space exploration. In this article, you will learn of some of the ends and outs regarding life after taking the first steps on the Moon.
10) During a ski trip with friends that took place in Aspen, Colorado on February 1991, Armstrong suffered a mild heart attack. At this time, his father had passed away a year earlier with his mother following behind three months later.
11) Ever since 1994, Armstrong has changed his policy on honoring requests for his autograph, which came after he learned that some of his signed items were being sold for large amounts of money with a slew of forgeries circulating. Often times, prices for his items went for $1,000 on auction sites at eBay. If you ever get your hands on a signed photograph of a crew member from the Apollo 11 mission, you could possibly receive $5,000 during a sale on an auction site.
12) Armstrong has been given many award and honors over the years, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Other accolades he has received include the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, the Sylvanus Thayer Award, the Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, and the Collier Trophy (affiliated with the National Aeronautics Association.
13) A lunar crater was named after Armstrong, which was located about 30 miles from the landing site of the Apollo 11. He was also honored with an asteroid in his name (6469 Armstrong).
14) Just like the movie stars and athletes, Armstrong was inducted into a Hall of Fame (the Astronaut Hall of Fame) and also earned a space on the Aerospace Walk of Honor.
15) Armstrong is such a popular figure in history, he has a handful of elementary, middle, and high schools paying homage to the influential astronaut. In addition to this, many streets, buildings, and other facilities bear Armstrong’s name or are in connection with the Apollo 11 mission.
16) There is a folk song written in honor of Armstrong (titled “Armstrong”), which pays tribute to the astronaut and also makes mention to the first steps he took on the moon.
17) Recently, a new engineering building was established on the campus of Purdue University, which was named the Neil Armstrong Hall of Engineering. It cost $53.2 million for the construction of the building, where a dedication took place on October 27th, 2007.
18) From 1985 to 1986, Neil Armstrong served on the National Commission on space.
19) During the investigation of the Challenger explosion, Armstrong was appointed to the position of vice chairman of the presidential commission in 1986.
20) Armstrong is married to second wife, Carol and is the father of two children (sons) with first wife Janet Shearon Armstrong, who he divorced in 1994. To date, he currently resides on a farm in Ohio.
