The museum that bears the name of American space pioneer Neil Armstrong will honor the memory of the late astronaut at a public memorial service Wednesday.

The Armstrong Air & Space Museum has set an 8:30 p.m. memorial gathering on the lawn of the museum in the Wapakoneta hometown of the first man to walk on the moon, organizers said.

“It will be a mixture of a salute to his military service … as well as the incredible things he has done after his military service,” said Donna Grube, a member of the Armstrong museum association’s board of directors.

Armstrong died Saturday at age 82 of complications from cardiovascular procedures, a family statement released through NASA said.

“We’re hoping to have representatives of NASA in attendance there as well as people who knew Neil when he grew up in Wapakoneta,” said Tony Sculimbrene, executive director of the National Aviation Heritage Alliance. The museum is next to I-75, at exit 111.

President Barack Obama and Ohio Gov. John Kasich ordered flags flown at half-staff in memory of the NASA astronaut. The governor’s order remains in effect through Aug. 31.

A private funeral service is set for Friday in Cincinnati, according to The Associated Press. U.S. Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, will deliver remarks during the service.

Armstrong was a Navy fighter pilot in the Korean War before he began a career at NASA that spanned the X-15 rocket plane test program, and Gemini and Apollo space launches throughout the 1960s. He, along with fellow astronaut Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, landed on the moon on July 20, 1969 aboard the Apollo 11 lunar module.

In the years after, Armstrong was a college engineering professor, a businessman, and a civic leader, among other pursuits.

He had a reverence for the Wright brothers, and thought of himself mostly as an engineer like the aviation pioneers who invented the airplane, said Amanda Wright Lane, great grandniece of Orville and Wilbur Wright.

“I hope I have a chance to attend a memorial service, just for the man himself, not for the man on the moon” or the man who’s “a world icon,” said Lane, who spoke to Armstrong numerous times. She last saw him in Dayton in June for a memorial service on the 100th anniversary of Wilbur Wright’s death.

An exhibit at the Cincinnati Museum Center’s Museum of Natural History & Science honoring Armstrong had more visitors than usual since the announcement of his death, said spokeswoman Casey Kroger. The exhibit had about 2,000 visitors Sunday.

The display showcases a replica of Armstrong’s Apollo spacesuit, and tools he used on the moon. Armstrong had NASA donate an Apollo 11 moon rock to the museum for the permanent exhibit, she said. Visitors may see the display for free through Sept. 3.