1968, "apollo 8" is ready to go. 1On July 6th, 969, Armstrong became the commander of Apollo 1 1. He flew to the moon with young astronauts Michael collins (1930-) and Buzz Eidelin (1930-). After reaching the moon, Collins stayed in orbit, and Armstrong boarded the surface of the moon on the Kitty Hawk lander, avoiding the icy gravel of the moon and landing smoothly on the calm sea. Armstrong and Eidelin spent 2 hours and 30 minutes on the surface of the moon, conducted scientific experiments, collected samples of rocks and soil, and left scientific equipment for the experiment and badges to commemorate their landing. They left the moon on July 2 1 and returned to earth on July 24.