Moon landing anniversary - Next great leap for mankind

It was 48 years ago today that a former US navy test pilot delivered one of the most famous sound bites in history.

Neil Armstrong told the world: “That’s one small step for (a) man, one giant leap for mankind” as he stepped onto the surface of the moon in the Sea of Tranquillity.

Whether Armstrong actually included the indefinite article is lost in conjecture and bursts of broadcast static. But as his mission had already delivered another hugely memorable description which resonates to this day — “The Eagle has landed” — we should not perhaps be too vexed.