Changes

See [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp One Small Misstep], Snopes urban legend site. A video clip and sound recording are available at [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11v_1092338.mpg NASA]. At the time, many listeners perceived his words as "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Major newspapers and wire services reported it without the "a;" the ''New York Times'' did so as their July 21, 1969 "Quotation of the Day" (p. 35, also in the seventh sentence of their front-page story).  Various small noises, short pauses, or transmission artifacts have sometimes been interpreted as the missing word, obscured by technical problems. In September 2006 an audio analyst claimed to have found the missing "a" but this, too is disputed.</ref>

See [http://www.snopes.com/quotes/onesmall.asp One Small Misstep], Snopes urban legend site. A video clip and sound recording are available at [http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/History/alsj/a11/a11v_1092338.mpg NASA]. At the time, many listeners perceived his words as "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Major newspapers and wire services reported it without the "a;" the ''New York Times'' did so as their July 21, 1969 "Quotation of the Day" (p. 35, also in the seventh sentence of their front-page story).  Various small noises, short pauses, or transmission artifacts have sometimes been interpreted as the missing word, obscured by technical problems. In September 2006 an audio analyst claimed to have found the missing "a" but this, too is disputed.</ref>

The broadcast seemingly omitted the "a", reducing Armstrong's quote to the senseless "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.".<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/62284main_onesmall2.wav "...one small step for (a) man..."] NASA's official recording</ref>

The broadcast seemingly omitted the "a", reducing Armstrong's quote to the senseless "That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind."<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/62284main_onesmall2.wav "...one small step for (a) man..."] NASA's official recording</ref>

For almost 40 years, historians, academics and fans of space travel debated about the recording, some claiming that Armstrong had forgotten the word while others said that it was merely lost in transmission. Armstrong always said that he had not forgotten the word, but couldn't offer an explanation why it was not heard in the transmission.

For almost 40 years, historians, academics and fans of space travel debated about the recording, some claiming that Armstrong had forgotten the word while others said that it was merely lost in transmission. Armstrong always said that he had not forgotten the word, but couldn't offer an explanation why it was not heard in the transmission.