Neil Armstrong dies, his legend lives

Astronaut Neil Armstrong, who in 1969 became the first person in the world to set foot on the Moon, died in the United States.

In early August, 82-year-old Armstrong received surgery to reduce the clogging of coronary arteries. Today, the family of the legendary astronaut said that he died due to post-surgery complications.

U.S. President Barack Obama made a statement in connection with astronaut's death. He stressed out that Armstrong had shown the world, what incredible power one small step can have," Rosbalt said. Obama also called Armstrong "one of America's greatest heroes."

The statement from Neil Armstrong's family says: "Neil was our loving husband, father, grandfather, brother and friend. Neil Armstrong was also a reluctant American hero who always believed he was just doing his job. He served his Nation proudly, as a navy fighter pilot, test pilot, and astronaut. He also found success back home in his native Ohio in business and academia, and became a community leader in Cincinnati. [...] While we mourn the loss of a very good man, we also celebrate his remarkable life and hope that it serves as an example to young people around the world to work hard to make their dreams come true, to be willing to explore and push the limits, and to selflessly serve a cause greater than themselves."

Neil Alden Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930. A participant in the U.S. Air Force's Man In Space Soonest and X-20 Dyna-Soar human spaceflight programs, Armstrong joined the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962. His first spaceflight was the NASAGemini 8 mission in 1966, for which he was the command pilot, becoming one of the first U.S. civilians in space. He is the man who said the famous words: "That's one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind." In five years after the lunar mission, Armstrong retired from NASA and started his own business.