First man on the moon dies at 82

Though Maltese news remains dominated by the death of one of its most iconoclastic statesmen, a few hours ago the world was rocked by the news that the first man to land on the moon has died.

Neil Armstrong died of complications resulting from a heart surgery he underwent on 5 August. The former astronaut was no stranger to heart complications - he suffered a mild heart attack in 1991, which came shortly after his father's death.

Known for the world over and synonymous with the quote "one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind" which he uttered upon first stepping onto the moon's surface on July 20 of 1969, Armstrong died in his family home in Cincinatti at the age of 82.

He will be remembered as the first man on the moon, after he led the historic Apollo 11 to the moon along with his fellow astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.

There news of Armstrong's death led to an instant outpouring of tributes online, with Armstrong's name becoming a 'trending' topic on the micro-blogging website Twitter.

Though the landing understandably made celebrities out of Armstrong and the rest of his crew, the astronaut remained fiercely protective of his private life up until the very end, with some describing him as the "recluse's recluse" whose insistence on not being seen publically rivalled that of filmmaker and aviation enthusiast Howard Hughes.

A year after the Apollo 11 mission, he parted ways with NASA to pursue an academic career, becoming a professor of engineering at the University of Cincinatti.

Armstrong is survived by his second wife Carol Held Knight and two children, Alan and Karen Anne.

In a statement released after his death, the family gave Armstrong an emotional send-off.

"Honour his example of service, accomplishment and modesty, and the next time you walk outside on a clear night and see the moon smiling down at you, think of Neil Armstrong and give him a wink."