As the first person to set foot on the Moon, Neil Armstrong was a global icon who symbolized the greatest triumph of mankind's pioneering spirit. He had all the attributes one would expect of an astronaut: bravery, professionalism, technical skill and composure. What separated him from the rest, according to those who knew or studied him, was a surreal confidence - it was with legendary aplomb that he manually guided a fuel-depleted lunar module to the surface of the Moon - and a humility that was both refreshing and inspiring. It was partly because of these gualities that he became the world's ambassador to the heavens. Luck also played pivotal a role: Many things had to fall into place for Mr. Armstrong to earn his place in history, including a series of precursor missions that, had any of them gone differently, would have handed someone else the opportunity. He also had a large and immensely capable supporting cast at NASA and in industry, engineers and scientists armed with tools that were utterly primitive by today's standards. Underlying it all was a bold presidential mandate, issued in the heat of a Cold War competition with the Soviet Union.
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