Man on the Moon

T. Renner, "Man on the Moon," 2012, acrylic on paper, 4" x 6".

From the New York Times, August 25, 2012:

Neil Armstrong, a quiet self-described nerdy engineer who became a global hero when he made “one giant leap for mankind” with a small step on to the moon, died Saturday at age 82.

Mr. Armstrong died after complications from cardiovascular procedures, according to a statement from his family. The statement did not say where he died. He lived in Cincinnati.

Mr. Armstrong commanded the Apollo 11 spacecraft that landed on the moon on July 20, 1969, capping the most daring of the 20th century’s scientific expeditions. His first words after setting foot on the surface are etched in history books and the memories of those who heard them in a live broadcast.

“That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind,” Mr. Armstrong said.

In those first moments on the moon, during the climax of heated space race with the then-Soviet Union, Mr. Armstrong stopped in what he called “a tender moment” and left a patch commemorate NASA astronauts and Soviet cosmonauts who had died in action.

“It was special and memorable but it was only instantaneous because there was work to do,” he told an Australian television interviewer in 2012.