Neil Armstrong Inscribes An Iconic Photograph of Himself in His Astronaut Uniform To A NASA Program Director

In 1961, President John F. Kennedy challenged the nation by establishing the goal of “landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth.” Eight years later that goal was accomplished, when on the Apollo 11 mission Neil Armstrong, along with Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin, took their capsule to the Moon, and Armstrong took the lunar module Eagle to the lunar surface and became the first man to walk on the Moon. Two statements of Armstrong’s came to embody that accomplishment: “The Eagle has landed;” which announced the lunar module’s landing on the Moon’s surface; and “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind,” spoken as his foot first touched the Moon. These are two of the most famous statements made by any American of any generation.

Rogers started working for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1959 on the design and development of satellite systems. He worked in Advanced Programs during the Apollo years, and completed his career as a program director, and retired from NASA’s Washington DC headquarters in 1981.

Photograph signed of Neil Armstrong, an official NASA color portrait of Armstrong dresses in his astronaut uniform and holding his helmet, posing in front of the moon, measuring at 8 by 10 inches and inscribed to Donald Rogers.

Armstrong frequently used autopen machines to sign letters and photographs, and so finding authentically signed photographs is uncommon.  This is one of the great, iconic images of the American space era.