How unbelievably sad!! Neil Armstrong, the American astronaut who made the epic “one small step” on the moon back in 1969, has died.
His family has yet to confirm when or where he died. But they will say he passed away due to “complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.”
In an extremely beautiful statement, they say:
“We are heartbroken to share the news that Neil Armstrong has passed away following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures. Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend.
Honor his example of service, accomplishment and 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.”
FAMOUS LOST WORD IN ARMSTRONG’S ‘MANKIND’ QUOTE
Was the walk on the moon one small step for man, or a man? Neil Armstrong’s first words from the moon were heard all over Earth, and Earth heard this:
“That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”
But Armstrong said immediately after the 1969 landing that he had been misquoted. He said he actually said, “That’s one small step for `a’ man.” It’s just that people just didn’t hear it.
The astronaut acknowledged in a rare interview in 1999 that he didn’t hear himself say it either when he listened to the transmission from the July 20, 1969, moon landing.
“The `a’ was intended,” Armstrong said. “I thought I said it. I can’t hear it when I listen on the radio reception here on Earth, so I’ll be happy if you just put it in parentheses.”
Although no in the world heard the “`a,” some research backs Armstrong. In 2006, a computer analysis found evidence that Armstrong said what he said he said.
Peter Shann Ford, an Australian computer programmer, ran a software analysis looking at sound waves and found a wave that would have been the missing “a.” It lasted 35 milliseconds, much too quick to be heard. The Smithsonian’s space curator, Roger Launius, looked at the evidence and found it convincing. NASA has also stood by its moon man.
“If Neil Armstrong says there was an `a,’ then as far as we’re concerned, there was `a,'” NASA spokesman Michael Cabbage said shortly before the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission.
Armstrong, who died Saturday at age 82, maintained until the end that there was a lost word in his famous words from the moon.
“I thought about it after landing,” he said in a 2011 NASA oral history. “And because we had a lot of other things to do, it was not something that I really concentrated on, but just something that was kind of passing around subliminally or in the background. But it, you know, was a pretty simple statement, talking about stepping off something. Why, it wasn’t a very complex thing. It was what it was.”
Farewell Neil, he was 82. Armstrong was a hero and his legacy will live on forever.
Rest in peace, Neil…
*AMS *PEREZ © 2012 THE ASSOCIATED PRESS. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. THIS MATERIAL MAY NOT BE PUBLISHED, BROADCAST, REWRITTEN OR REDISTRIBUTED. [Image via AP Images.]
~ The Adam's Corner ~ 
August 26th, 2012 → 12:15 PM
[…] RIP Neil Armstrong: First Man On the Moon Has Died at the Age of 82! Missed By All! […]