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Neil Armstrong to skip Apollo 11 event

The world's most famous moonwalker - no, not that one - is to skip a major Nasa event next week commemorating the 40th anniversary of the moon landing. The notoriously shy Neil Armstrong, the first of only a dozen men ever to set foot on the earth's nearest neighbour, is counting on his garrulous Apollo 11 shipmate Buzz Aldrin to relive his "one small step" for a worldwide audience of journalists and space enthusiasts Monday.

Armstrong is said to be deeply suspicious of fans and of the press. Instead Aldrin will be joined at Nasa's Washington headquarters on Monday by Eugene Cernan, one of the last humans on the moon, and other Nasa astronauts.

Armstrong is expected to appear on Sunday night at an event at Washington's Smithsonian Institution, where he is expected to give a 15-minute lecture. But he is unlikely to satisfy the world's desire to hear him speak about his brief jaunt across the lunar surface four decades ago.

Read entire article at Guardian (UK)