In 1969, "Apollo 11" astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon Armstrong stepped onto the lunar surface at 10:56 p.m. ET Neil Armstrong Fellow astronaut "Buzz" Aldrin and Armstrong collected nearly 22 kilograms of lunar rock and soil After 21 hours, they rejoined crewmate Michael Collins who was orbiting above American astronauts would land on the moon five more times in the following three years