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Did Neil Armstrong lie about his 'one small step' remark?

By KATE STANTON, UPI.com
Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and first man to walk on the moon, testifies during a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on NASA and the future of human space flight, on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 22, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch
Neil Armstrong, commander of Apollo 11 and first man to walk on the moon, testifies during a House Science, Space, and Technology Committee hearing on NASA and the future of human space flight, on Capitol Hill in Washington on September 22, 2011. UPI/Kevin Dietsch | License Photo

Neil Armstrong became the first man to walk on the moon on July 20, 1969, a moment he marked with the iconic phrase, "One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." But in a new BBC documentary, Armstrong's brother, Dean, contradicts the late astronaut's insistence that he came up with those famous words on the spot.

In "Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon," Dean Armstrong says that he saw Neil's speech months before the Apollo launch during a family game of Risk.

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Via the Daily Mail:

"[Neil] says, 'What do you think about that?'" recalled Dean Armstrong in the film, 'Neil Armstrong: First Man on the Moon.'

"I said 'fabulous'. He said 'I thought you might like that, but I wanted you to read it.'"

Dean Armstrong also confirmed that Neil's original remark included the words "a man," though the broadcast's viewers only heard the contradictory statement "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." Armstrong later claimed that static overpowered his "a."

But for the 500 million people around the world who watched the moon landing on their television sets, the spontaneity of Armstrong's comments probably won't diminish their experience. Neil Armstrong died last August aged 82.

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