In 1903, the Wright Flyer became the first aircraft to make a controlled, powered flight with a passenger. The materials were removed from the craft after it was damaged during its fourth flight. When Neil Armstrong flew on his famous mission to the moon, he carried with him an extraordinary piece of aeronautics history: a tiny piece of wood from the propeller of the Wright Flyer and a scrap of fabric from its wing.
In 1969, only 66 years after the first successful flight in history, Neil Armstrong was the first person to set foot on the moon.
More about Neil Armstrong:
- Neil Armstrong also carried an astronaut pin belonging to Deke Slayton, on Apollo 11. Slayton had been unable to undertake a mission as the second American to orbit the Earth in 1962. The pin was originally intended to fly with Apollo 1.
- The astronauts of the Apollo 11 mission carried multiple copies of signed envelopes to the moon with them, with the intention of making them collectors' items. Some similar envelopes were left with their wives as a kind of insurance policy, in case the mission did not return safely.
- Neil Armstrong personally composed his famous statement about a "giant leap for mankind" after landing on the surface of the moon in the Eagle.