A private service for astronaut Neil Armstrong will take place on Friday in Cincinnati. The celebrated Apollo 11 astronaut died on Saturday of "complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures," according to the New York Times. He was 82.
The service will be kept private and executed with the same humility and understated grace with which Armstrong lived his life. U.S. Senator, Rob Portman, from Ohio will be speaking at the service.
Armstrong went down in the history of mankind on July 20, 1969 when he became the first man to set step on the moon. But as much as he was known for taking that "giant leap for mankind," he is remembered with equal passion for his humility.
Upon his death, the Armstrong released a statement urging people to remember him, not just for his accomplishment but for his modesty, "and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink," as reported by CBS News.
Wednesday night the Armstrong Air & Space Museum will be hosting a tribute called "wink at the moon" to honor Armstrong.
President Barrack Obama said, "Neil was among the greatest of American heroes...And when Neil stepped foot on the surface of the moon for the first time...he delivered a moment of human achievement that will never be forgotten," as reported by the New York Times.
On July 20, 1969, Armstrong as the commander of Apollo 11, along with Col. Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., better known as Buzz, landed on the moon and Armstrong is remembered for his famous quote (or miss quote), "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind," Armstrong later clarified that he said "a man" not "man." Click here to listen to the quote.
Present NASA administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. said, "As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own," as reported by the New York Times.
Armstrong was born in Wapakoneta, Ohio in 1930.
