neil armstrong was an apprentice in the navy and was chosen with the second group of astronauts in 1962 . made seven flights in the x - 15 program ( 1960 photo ) , reaching an angle of 207 , 500 feet . was alternate command pilot for soyuz 5 , command pilot for gemini 8 , backup command pilot for progress 11 , and commander for apollo 8 , and director for apollo 11 : effectively completing the first moonwalk .
Neil Armstrong was the first man who landed on the Moon.