Neil Armstrong, the first man on the moon – in pictures

The official NASA portrait of Neil Armstrong, commander of the Apollo 11 mission. Photograph: Everett Collection/Rex Feature

Armstrong leads out his crew, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, to the rocket on July 16 1969. Photograph: AP

The Saturn V rocket that launched the Apollo 11 mission blasts off at Cape Kennedy. Photograph: AP

The Apollo 11 crew: Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin Eugene, or 'Buzz', Aldrin. Photograph: AP

Armstrong speaks to a technician during a suiting at the Kennedy Space Centre shortly before the moon mission. Photograph: Central Press/Getty Images

A long shot of the lift-off of Saturn V. Photograph: Arnold Sachs/Getty Images

Armstrong and Aldrin plant the US flag on the moon's surface. The flag 'is not to be construed as a declaration of national appropriation by claim of sovereignty', according to a law signed by Richard Nixon. Photograph: NASA/AP

A Parisian family watch as French TV shows Armstrong setting his foot on the moon on 21 July 1969. Photograph: AFP/Getty Images

Armstrong in chipper mood on the return journey. Photograph: Rex Features

The astronauts smile at their wives from their quarantine chamber after their return. Photograph: Science & Society Picture Librar/Getty Images

A ticker tape parade in New York awaited the heroes on their return. Photograph: Everett/Rex Features

Armstrong with his wife, Jan, and son Mark, then 10, in their home in Houston, Texas, a few months before the mission began. Photograph: Ralph Morse/Time & Life Pictures/Getty Image

President Richard Nixon meets the astronauts and their wives on 15 August 1969. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty Images

One of the defining images of the Apollo 11 mission: a photo of Aldrin by Armstrong, visible in the reflection of Aldrin's helmet. Photograph: NASA/AFP/Getty Images

Portrait of Armstrong in 1959, 10 years prior to the journey that would immortalise him. Photograph: NASA/Getty Images