Neil Armstrong was an astronaut.
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first two humans on the Moon . The Apollo spacecraft had three parts : a command module ( CM ) with a cabin for the three astronauts , and the only part that landed back on Earth ; a service module ( SM ) , which supported the command module with propulsion , electrical power , oxygen , and water ; and a lunar module ( LM ) that had two stages -- a lower stage for landing on the Moon , and an upper stage to place the astronauts back into lunar orbit . The Command/Service Module ( CSM ) was one of two spacecraft , along with the Lunar Module , used for the United States Apollo program which landed astronauts on the Moon . Neil Alden Armstrong ( August 5 , 1930 -- August 25 , 2012 ) was an American astronaut and the first person to walk on the Moon . Armstrong 's second and last spaceflight was as commander of Apollo 11 , the first manned Moon landing mission in July 1969 .