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The first human to walk on the moon, Neil Armstrong, is "doing great" after undergoing cardiac bypass surgery, his wife reported.
Carol Armstrong's characterization of her husband's condition was relayed by another moonwalker, Apollo 17's Gene Cernan.
Neil Armstrong, who lives in the Cincinnati area and just celebrated his 82nd birthday, went to the hospital on Monday for a stress test. He flunked, and on Tuesday, surgeons bypassed four blockages in his coronary arteries. His wife reports that his spirits are high, and the doctors expect no problems with his recovery, Cernan told NBC News' Jay Barbree.
Armstrong became world-famous in 1969 when he and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon. As the mission commander, it was Armstrong's role to step out of the lander first, descend a ladder and take the first-ever footstep on the lunar surface. "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind," he declared.
After Apollo 11, Armstrong worked briefly at the Pentagon's Office of Advanced Research and Technology, then became an engineering professor at the University of Cincinnati in his native state of Ohio. He also served as a director on the boards of several companies, and retired as chairman of the board of EDO Corp. in 2002.
Armstrong traditionally has taken a low profile in public life: His most recent turns in the spotlight came when he testified at congressional hearings on the future of NASA human spaceflight, and when he was awarded the Congressional Gold Medal last November.
In a statement, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the space agency "wishes Neil Armstrong the very best for a quick recovery from surgery."
"Neil's pioneering spirit will surely serve him well in this challenging time, and the entire NASA family is holding the Armstrong family in our thoughts and prayers. I know countless well-wishers around the world join us in sending get-well wishes to this true American hero," Bolden said.
Feel free to leave your get-well wishes below, and we'll pass along the general sentiment to Armstrong and his family.
Update for 5:40 p.m. ET: Armstrong's crewmate, Buzz Aldrin, is among the well-wishers: "Just heard about Neil & heart surgery today — Sending my best wishes for a speedy recovery — We agreed to make it [to] the 50th Apollo anniv[ersary] in 2019," Aldrin writes in a Twitter update.
More about Neil Armstrong:
- Neil Armstrong still chooses to go to the moon
- First moonwalker urges suborbital spaceflight
- Corvette with Armstrong angle goes up for sale
Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter and adding the Cosmic Log page to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.
Leave a Comment:
Glad to hear that Mr. Armstrong came through surgery well. Hope he gets better and I wish him many more years of good health. Mr. Armstrong you are a true American hero!
Houston, Tranquility base...the Eagle has landed. The average age of the people who put man on the moon was just 26 years old. I get choked up thinking about that night. Get well soon!
And what they did it with compared to today's technology.
Get well soon Mr. Armstrong. You are a true American hero and so are all of our astronauts and solders. I was 12 years old that July night while sitting in front of my parent's RCA black and white TV (didn't get a color one until 1972). My parents and extended family were watching. NASA inspired me to study electrical engineering and 25 years later I was working at NASA facilties in telecom. Most people don't understand the complexity of those missions. The Saturn Five Rocketdyne engines remain the lift monsters of all time. I wish I could have seen an Apollo mission launch. Long live you sir.
You and many others were inspired by astronauts. Just think of how many thousands and millions were inspired. Its amazing!
Get well soon Mr. Armstrong.
the space program enthralled me and i watched and read everything i could about it. i have all the major news magazines and the new york times issue covering the first lunar landing on the shelf in my closet and i go outside to this day whenever it's clear to look at the night sky. Mr Armstrong is a true hero...my hero... and i wish him a speedy recovery.
I hope he can get back to bicycle racing again! Godspeed!
Greetings from Canada:
Mr. Armstrong - you are an uber mensch --- you represent the best of not just the United States - but all of Human kind....
Get well... we need you around a lot longer... just your humility alone... is a shining light to others.
Peace, good health and laughter.... and safe return, please
Steven Roberts
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Let's see - Neil is 82 years old and receiving Gov't paid for heart surgery. This runs counter to the tennets of Obamacare. Good thing he got this this year and not in 2014....he would be on the "you're too old to live" list....Sorry Charlie...or in this case Neil.
Save an old Astronaut....overturn Obamacare!
I remember tearing up as a high school kid watching (with the rest of the school) when you said "one small step..." in '69, and I still tear up when I think about them.
I wish you a speedy and full return to robust good health, and that you may live long and prosper.
Mr. Armstrong, please get well soon. Your feat of walking on the moon is emblazoned in the history of exploration. You have more recently done great work as an advocate for space exploration. It remains my good hope that you, the first man to walk on the moon, may yet live to see the next person to walk on the moon.
Mark R. Whittington
You are part of History !!! And Neil When I was a Kid so fascinated with the APOLLO Missions,
my Dad purchased a small silent 5min B&W SUPER 8 film roll of YOU and the First Step. I STILL HAVE IT, really grainy but YOU come alive when I see it. You are a HERO to many! Please GET WELL And GOD Bless !!
Many more missions to see !