NEIL ARMSTRONG. A COLLECTION OF ARMSTRONG'S US PASSPORTS

NEIL ARMSTRONG

Six United States Passports issued to Neil Armstrong from 1954 to 1979, including his Special and Diplomatic Passport used while going through astronaut training

1. Passport. United States of America. Green cloth with Department of State Seal pattern, lettered in gold (6 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches). Issued May 7th, 1954. Signed "NEIL ALDEN ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL ALDEN ARMSTRONG" over photograph. Listing his occupation as "Student."

2. Special Passport. United States of America. Green cloth with Department of State Seal pattern, lettered in gold (6 1/4 x 3 3/4 inches). Issued October 6th, 1960. Signed "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" over photograph. Listing his official status as: "PROCEEDING ABROAD ON OFFICIAL BUSINESS FOR THE NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION." Brasil, Panama, Guatemala, 1960-65.

3. Diplomatic Passport. United Stated of America. Navy blue leatherette, lettered in gold (6 x 3 3/4 inches). Issued Sept. 22, 1966. Signed "NEIL ALDEN ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" over photograph. Indicating that the bearer is: "AN ASTRONAUT ON A SPECIAL DIPLOMATIC MISSION FOR THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES."  Venezuela, Brasil, Paraguay, Colombia, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, 1966.

4. Passport. United States of America.  Green leatherette, lettered in gold (6 x 3 3/4 inches). Issued Sept. 16, 1969. Signed "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" over photograph. Greece, UK, France, South Africa, Spain, 1972-74.

5. Passport. United States of America.  Green leatherette, lettered in gold (6 x 3 3/4 inches). Issued Sept. 5, 1974. Signed "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" over photograph. Philippines, UK, Spain, France, Ireland, Ecuador, Norway, Australia, 1974-79.

6. Passport. United States of America.  Navy blue leatherette, lettered in silver (4 3/4 x 3 1/2 inches). Issued July 26, 1979. Signed "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" on signature page, and "NEIL A. ARMSTRONG" over photograph. UK, Ireland, Canada, France, Sweden, South Africa, 1979-1984.

SIX US PASSPORTS ISSUED TO NEIL ARMSTRONG; AN INCREDIBLE RECORD OF THE TRAVELS OF THE FIRST MAN TO WALK ON THE MOON, DEMONSTRATING ONE OF THE MANY WAYS THAT BECOMING AN ASTRONAUT CHANGED HIS LIFE.

The first passport was issued in 1954 while Armstrong was a junior at Purdue University, after having served as an aviator in the Navy and serving in the Korean War; he seemed too focused on his studies to travel during this period, as the passport bears no exit/entry stamps. 

We see a change in the Special Passport, which he used from 1960-1965 while conducting official business abroad for NASA. Armstrong joined the Naval Advisory for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1955, and became part of the second group in the NASA Astronaut Corps in 1962, going on to train at the Panama Jungle Survival School on Albrook Air Force Base in the Panama Canal Zone. This Special Passport shows his entry and exit dates into Panama, as well as travel completed by him in the neighboring countries of Brazil and Guatemala. We see quite a dramatic uptick in his travel in the Diplomatic Passport, used by him starting in 1966 while on special diplomatic missions for the President of the United States. It shows extensive entries and exits not only to and from Panama, but nearly every country in South America. The fourth passport was issued just one month after the launch of the Apollo 11 mission, and this along with the last two passports show a shift in the countries Armstrong traveled to, seeing him making frequent visits to multiple countries in Europe, South Africa, Australia, and the Philippines, with the only south American visit being to Ecuador, being a mix of trips for vacation and business.