The first person to walk on the Moon was American astronaut Neil Armstrong. He stepped onto the lunar surface on July 21, 1969, at 02:56 UTC during the Apollo 11 mission
. Armstrong famously said, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" as he took his first step
. He and fellow astronaut Buzz Aldrin landed the Lunar Module Eagle on the Moon's surface, while Michael Collins orbited above in the Command Module
. Armstrong was the mission commander and was selected to exit the spacecraft first due to his role and practical considerations related to the Lunar Module's hatch
