When Neil Armstrong apologised to Indira Gandhi

August 28, 2012 11:39 pm | Updated November 17, 2021 05:50 am IST - LONDON:

This undated image provided by NASA shows Neil Armstrong posing with a X-15. File photo

This undated image provided by NASA shows Neil Armstrong posing with a X-15. File photo

Neil Armstrong reportedly apologised to Indira Gandhi when told how she kept awake till 4.30 a.m. to watch his historic moon landing on July 20, 1969.

“I apologise for the inconvenience we caused you, Madame Prime Minister. Next time, I shall make sure that we land on the moon at a less unearthly hour,” the American astronaut told her, according to Natwar Singh, former External Affairs Minister.

Mr. Singh, who was present when Armstrong and his fellow astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin met the late Prime Minister on a visit to New Delhi, told PTI that there was an “awkward silence” when photographers left the room after taking pictures.

Prompted by Indira Gandhi to speak, he said: “Mr. Armstrong, you will be interested to know that the Prime Minister kept awake till 4.30 a.m, so as not to miss the exact time of your lunar landing.”

Upon which Armstrong profusely apologised to her.

The famous astronaut died last week at the age of 82.

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