When Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins blasted off on their trip to the moon in July 1969, they were being paid by the U.S. government. But how much money they made while on their historic mission might surprise you.
Armstrong, the commander of the moon journey and a civilian who was working for NASA, was the highest-paid of the astronauts. He had a Bachelor of Science degree in Aeronautical Engineering from Purdue and attended graduate school at Southern Cal before joining NASA in 1955.
“As a civil servant, Armstrong, a GS-16 Step 7, earns $30,054 per annum,” NASA said in a news release before the 1969 moon landing.
Aldrin, the second man on the moon and the lunar module pilot, was a colonel in the United States Air Force when he rode aboard Apollo 11. He had received a Bachelor of Science degree from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point in 1951 and earned a Doctor of Science degree in Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1963.
“The annual pay and allowances for an Air Force colonel with Aldrin’s time in service total $18,622.56,” NASA said in 1969.
Collins, the command module pilot, had graduated from West Point in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science degree. He was a lieutenant colonel when he flew aboard Apollo 11.
“The annual pay and allowances of an Air Force lieutenant colonel with Collins’ time and service totals $17,147.36,” NASA said.
While making between $17,000 and $30,000 may not seem like a lot for being such historic figures and risking their lives to rocket into space, remember those were 1969 dollars.
If you adjust for inflation, the astronauts’ salaries look better.
Armstrong’s $30,054 salary 50 years ago would be $208,169 in 2019 dollars. Aldrin’s $18,622.56 in 1969 would be $128,988.88 today, and Collins’ $17.147.36 would equal $118,770.93 now.
