NASA's Director of Flight Crew Operations, Deke Slayton, called Armstrong on September 13, 1962, and asked whether he would be interested in joining the NASA Astronaut Corps as part of what the press dubbed "the New Nine"; without hesitation, Armstrong said yes.
Deke Slayton chamou a Armstrong o 13 de setembro de 1962 e preguntoulle se estaría interesado en unirse ao corpo de astronautas da NASA como parte do que a prensa bautizara como "os novos nove"; sen vacilar Armstrong dixo que si.