Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon, will skip Nasa's event commemorating the 40th anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 mission. The notoriously private astronaut rarely speaks in public and has refused autograph requests since 1994. Even avid Apollo fans struggle to recall what the world's most famous astronaut looks like.
Instead, the irrepressible Buzz Aldrin, the second man on the Moon, will take his place at the Nasa headquarters event on Monday, aided by Eugene Cernan, the last person to have walked on the lunar surface. Armstrong will address the Smithsonian Institution in Washington on Sunday night, but a spokesperson said he will not be doing interviews or photos, and it is thought unlikely he will reminisce about his two and a half hours on the Moon.
Nasa may have deliberately chosen Armstrong for the first step because he was quiet and unassuming. Armstrong's biographer James Hansen suggests the change from protocol, which would have made Aldrin first, was made because officials believed Armstrong would better bear the burden of fame and not embarrass the agency. While Armstrong has maintained a low profile, Aldrin publicly struggled with alcoholism and depression after his Nasa career.
Armstrong has good reason to be reserved. His first words—'That's one small step for man... one giant leap for mankind'—have been dogged by controversy, with speculation he fumbled the line. He stopped signing autographs after discovering they were being sold for large sums, with many forgeries in circulation. He also became embroiled in a legal argument after his barber sold a lock of his hair to a collector for $3,000.
Nasa has planned a programme of events around the 40th anniversary to bolster support for a return trip to the Moon. The space shuttle programme is due to retire next year, and Nasa hopes its replacement, Constellation, will return people to the Moon by 2020.
