Did the USSR invite other astronauts of Apollo 11 besides Armstrong?

Question

Sometime after the return of Apollo 11, Neil Armstrong visited the USSR. I wonder why he was alone? Weren't the other astronauts invited or they refused to visit? Was it because Armstrong was an atheist while the others were devoted Christians?

Answer 1

Religious beliefs most likely not the reason for Neil Armstrong visit to the USSR without his crew mates. Armstrong is one of most famous U.S. astronauts. Due to his fame, he was extended opportunities that other individuals were not. One example of this is his visit to the USSR. During this trip Neil Armstrong and fellow U.S. Astronaut Frank Borman. Borman was arguably more religious than Armstrong, this may be because during Borman’s flight of apollo 8 on December 24^th, 1968 he read from the book of Genesis. The true meaning of the trip was scientific corporation between the USSR and the United States science communities. Both Armstrong and Borman as well as a team of 32 U.S. scientist were attending the Council of Scientific Unions Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) conference.

Scientific cooperation between belligerent nations is important for discovery. The U.S. team that was invited to the USSR was not done so by the Soviet government, but by the scientific community. The most likely reason for the visit is to foster scientific cooperation between the United States and the USSR.

1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1969 - Chronology on Science, Technology, and Policy, p 195

2 National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Astronautics and Aeronautics, 1970 - Chronology on Science, Technology, and Policy, p 176

3 Armstrong, Neil. University of Cincinnati Résumé, September 1975, p 2

4 Hansen, James R. First Man: The Life of Neil A. Armstrong, p 582

5 Ezell, Edward and Linda. The Partnership: A History of the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, p online