ok- i know this might be a bit trite and probably covered a couple of years ago when it first came up- but i just have to ask this. i don't even know why i thought of this just now, to be honest.
what, exactly, were Neil Armstongs first words after stepping off the ladder onto the lunar surface? for over 3 decades, it was " one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind".
but, a couple of years ago, some femininst group was saying- in a rather public and "if you disagree with me you are an insensitive sexist pig"way- that he said "one small step for A man.."
personally , i can't hear the "A" in there, but the PC folks swear he HAD to say it that way, or he is a sexist pig, and if i don't hear it, it's because i don't WANT to hear it because i am a sexist pig.
so, guys (and gals)- what's the final answer on this one?

From the ALSJ:
That's how it is commonly understood today.

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

G'day novaderrick

Call it as you hear it.

I've never heard the indefinite article ("a") in the statement. However, it's almost certain Armstrong meant to say it - it gives the sentence its poetic balance. After all, he is the man making the small physical step on behalf of humanity. So when he says the line, he's referring to himself in the third person.

Some have even suggested that the pause between the two parts of the statement is where he realised he'd made his boo-boo, and figuring there wasn't anything to do about it, just went on and finished his statement.

But in the grand scheme of things, it's not as important as other things he and others said and did on the Moon...

Conrad: "Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that's a long one for me."

Scott: "Man must explore."

I just read the Scott/Leonov bio: Highly recommended!

Harald

PS: And yesterday I finally got to see "The Dish" for the first time, on tv. Nice movie, but I can understand why the Honeysuckle folks were pretty unhappy with it.

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"Flying in space is risky business, but just staying on this planet is risky business too." - John Young, astronaut

I always understood that he was supposed to say 'a' and made a booby.

In any case, 'Man' , in this context, is like cow or sheep - it's non gender specific.

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Andy

Manager Ukweatherworld

There was a thread about this a few months back. It was said that Armstrong insists -- even now -- that he did say "a". Having puzzled over this myself (and having listened to a downloaded copy of his famous words over and over), I've noticed that in certain varieties of American speech, the "a" in a statement like "one small step for a man" can be almost silent -- understood by the speaker and listener to be there, but inaudible to anyone else. Thus the speaker (if you were to question him) believes he said it, and the listener, if he were sitting in the same room, enjoying the same conversation, may believe he heard it. But cultural assumptions disappear in a radio communication, and all you're left with are the bare words, which do not include "a".

I always understood that he was supposed to say 'a' and made a booby.

One giant what for mankind?

die Nullte has summarized the continuing debate. Armstrong maintains he said what he planned to say: "...for a man." Those who disagree base their arguments on the vocal cadence. Unfortunately, having grown up in the same part of the country as Armstrong, I can't accept that because the Midwestern speech pattern almost always elides "for a" into a single syllable "f'ra". In other American dialects, an argument from silence might hold. Not in this case, in my opinion.

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"Facts are stubborn things." --John Adams
Clavius Moon Base

I still remember hearing him say it the very first time and turning to my wife, saying, "What'd he say?" Something I don't understand -- since this was all faked anyway -- why didn't they do a second take? Or did they simply give up after Take 18? "Let's move on! He's never going to get it right!"

But if he had gotten it right, everyone would have known it was faked. The first person to step onto the Moon would definitely be so nervous and flustered that he would mess up his pre-prepared statement.

Aporetic

I always thought the first words from the surface of the moon were:

"Tranquility base here, Eagle has landed."

:P

So, under this scenario, they were very careful to make Armstrong's first words believable, but they got sloppy and messed up on shadows, stars, backdrops, etc.

Like Armstrong, I'm born and raised in Ohio so I'm pretty familiar with the local dialect. I would have expected Neil to have pronounced it something like "one small step fur'a man" but I heard "one small step fur'man", which is Ohioese for "for man". It's been a while since I last listened to it but it sure sounded to me like he left the "a" out.

No matter how many times I listen to it, I don't hear the "a" either. But in my explanation (or hypothesis) I was trying to give Neil the benefit of the doubt. I was assuming a logical explanation for the fact that he still claims to have said it, but that we can't hear it.

:P to you too.

If you're going to be a pedant about it, you'd better make sure you get your facts right! The very first words would have been Aldrin's call of "Contact light." They didn't get around to "Tranquility Base here" for a couple of seconds, as recorded from the Apollo Uber-Pedant's Best Friend, the Apollo Lunar Surface Journal:

102:45:40 Aldrin: Contact Light.
102:45:43 Armstrong (on-board): Shutdown
102:45:44 Aldrin: Okay. Engine Stop.
102:45:45 Aldrin: ACA out of Detent.
102:45:46 Armstrong: Out of Detent. Auto.
102:45:47 Aldrin: Mode Control, both Auto. Descent Engine Command Override, Off. Engine Arm, Off. 413 is in.
102:45:57 Duke: We copy you down, Eagle.
102:45:58 Armstrong (on-board): Engine arm is off. (Pause) Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.

I once mentioned before on this topic that Armstrong eventually got it right such that nowadays if you use the word "man" - ie: "man has come a long way"; or "the men in the ranks"; Time's "Man of the Year" or "Where no man has gone before; or as in workman or fisherman, etc. - you can get yourself into a lot of trouble as our PC world now insists "man" strictly means a male person.

RBG

Actually, best as I can tell, the first word spoken from the surface of the Moon was "Shutdown" by Armstrong. Aldrin's call of "Contact Light" occurred when the contact probes touched the surface but before LM touchdown. Armstrong claims to have not heard Aldrin and continued to burn the engine all the way until touchdown. Thus when Armstrong shut the engine down the LM was sitting on the surface of the Moon. This would make the word "Shutdown" the first spoken after the touchdown.

i forgot that there can be some very picky people when it comes to scientific/historical stuff like this..
what i meant to ask was
"what were the first words spoken on the moon (soundstage? ) from OUTSIDE the lander, and after Neil stepped off the ladder?". i personally don't hear the word/syllable/sound "A" between "for" and "man".

You'll do okay, Novaderrik!

You're absolutely right. To most of us, it sounds like Armstrong meant to include "a" in his sentence, and forgot it.

In the grand scheme of thinds, it's not that important, but there are those of us who cherish this historical event and all the bits and pieces around it.

It could have been far worse. Imagine:

"That's one small step for man.... ah nuts, can I start that again?..."

RBG

Or

"That's one sma-oops, uh oh! Um, Houston, that's one small face-plant for a man, one giant face-plant for mankind."

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