Space

Today in science: Neil Armstrong’s close call

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May 6, 2026

This amazing footage from 1968 shows Neil Armstrong’s close call while training for his moon landing.

On this day in May 6, 1968: Neil Armstrong’s close call

In 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon. But things could have been very different. More than a year earlier, he narrowly escaped from a dramatic accident during training.

He was flying in the Lunar Landing Research Vehicle (LLRV) at Ellington Air Force Base near Houston. The LLRV had been designed to simulate a descent to the moon’s surface, and all the lunar astronauts trained in it. That day, while Armstrong was piloting, a leaking propellant caused a total failure of his flight controls.

He attempted to right the vehicle, but to no avail. The craft plummeted to the ground … and he ejected just before impact. See the dramatic footage of Neil Armstrong’s close call above.

Neil Armstrong: Boyish looking man in space suit with helmet off grinning at the camera. — Neil Armstrong in the lunar module Eagle shortly after his historic 1st moonwalk, when he became the 1st human to set foot on a world besides Earth. Image via Wikipedia. Public domain.

Armstrong made it through unscathed

Armstrong was fine. He bit his tongue hard during his landing by parachute, but otherwise was uninjured. Airspacemag.com described this encounter between Armstrong and another astronaut later that day:

… astronaut Alan Bean saw Armstrong that afternoon at his desk in the astronaut office. Bean then heard colleagues in the hall talking about the accident, and asked them, ‘When did this happen?’ ‘About an hour ago,’ they replied.

Bean returned to Armstrong and said, ‘I just heard the funniest story!’ Armstrong said, ‘What?’

‘I heard that you bailed out of the LLRV an hour ago.’

‘Yeah, I did,’ replied Armstrong. ‘I lost control and had to bail out of the darn thing.’

Bean later recalled: ‘I can’t think of another person, let alone another astronaut, who would have just gone back to his office after ejecting a fraction of a second before getting killed.’

So no doubt … Armstrong was made of the right stuff for space travel!

Bottom line: On May 6, 1968 – more than a year before his famous first moonwalk – Neil Armstrong narrowly escaped disaster during a training accident.

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May 6, 2026

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Deborah Byrd

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Deborah Byrd (asteroid 3505 Byrd) helps edit EarthSky.org and is a frequent host of EarthSky videos. Deborah created the EarthSky radio series in 1991 and founded EarthSky.org in 1994. Prior to that, she had worked for the University of Texas McDonald Observatory since 1976, and created and produced their Star Date radio series. She has won a galaxy of awards from the broadcasting and science communities, including having an asteroid named in her honor in 1990, a Public Service Award from the National Science Board in 2003, and the Education Prize from the American Astronomical Society in 2020. A science communicator and educator since 1976, Byrd believes in science as a force for good in the world and a vital tool for the 21st century. "Being an EarthSky editor is like hosting a big global party for cool nature-lovers," she says.