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Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930.  He became a United States astronaut and, on July 20, 1969, the first man to set foot on the moon.  

Neil Armstrong was born on August 5, 1930.  He became a United States astronaut and, on July 20, 1969, the first man to set foot on the moon.  

When he stepped on the moon, he said some famous words. These words are an interesting example of the problems historians face in finding out what really happened in history.  

When he stepped onto the moon surface, he said the well-known words "That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind." that are even today associated to the moon landing. These words are an interesting example of the problems historians faced in finding out what really happened in history. His words were broadcast and millions of people heard them. Yet, for a long time, there was disagreement about ''what'' he had said.

His words were broadcast. Millions of people heard them. Armstrong is still alive and so are millions of people who heard the broadcast. And the broadcast was recorded.

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>

Yet, there is still disagreement about what he said. What he ''meant'' to say was:

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.

:That's one small step for a man; one giant leap for mankind.

But many people think he flubbed his line, and actually said

:That's one small step for man; one giant leap for mankind.

Some encyclopedias say one thing, some say another, and some split the difference by putting the word "a" in brackets:

:That's one small step for [a] man; one giant leap for mankind.

Armstrong has always insisted that he said the word ''a.''

However, in 2006, the Australian programmer Peter Shann Ford found the trace of the missing "a" in a downloaded recording he analyzed with audio software and presented his findings at the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum (Washington, D.C.) and at NASA's Washington headquarters. The conclusion is that the transmission reduced Armstrong's "a" to a 35ms sound bit - 10 times too quickly to be heard by human ears.<ref>[http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4225856.html One small step for clarity] Houston Chronicle, Oct. 3, 2006</ref>

==External links==

==References==

*Play [http://www.nasa.gov/62284main_onesmall2.wav NASA's recording] and decide for yourself.

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