Graham Greene
British writer, playwright and literary critic (1904-1991)
Buzz Aldrin was the second person to walk on the Moon after Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. He was a former astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot who made significant contributions to space exploration, including the development of the Aldrin cycler spacecraft trajectory for travel to Mars.
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About the Buzz Aldrin
Buzz Aldrinis an American former astronaut, engineer and fighter pilot. He made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, and was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission. He was the second person to walk on the Moon after mission commander Neil Armstrong. Following the death of Michael Collins in 2021, he is the last surviving Apollo 11 crew member.
Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 from the United States Military Academy at West Point with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned into the United States Air Force and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15 aircraft.
After earning a Doctor of Science degree in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technologyand Magnificent Desolationrecount his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years after leaving NASA. Aldrin continues to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars. He developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars more efficient in terms of time and propellant. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
Frequently Asked Questions
Buzz Aldrin is an American former astronaut, engineer, and fighter pilot. He was the second person to walk on the Moon, after Neil Armstrong, during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
Buzz Aldrin was the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, and he became the second person to walk on the Moon, nineteen minutes after Neil Armstrong.
The Aldrin cycler is a special spacecraft trajectory developed by Buzz Aldrin that makes travel to Mars more efficient in terms of time and propellant.
Buzz Aldrin made three spacewalks as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission, earned a Doctor of Science degree in astronautics from MIT, and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War.
In addition to his historic Moon landing, Buzz Aldrin has continued to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars, and has developed the Aldrin cycler spacecraft trajectory to make travel to Mars more efficient.
Buzz Aldrin’s autobiographies ,Return to Earth, (1973) and ,Magnificent Desolation, (2009) recount his struggles with clinical depression and alcoholism in the years after leaving NASA.
Buzz Aldrin has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.
4 Quotes by Buzz Aldrin
- 1.
There’s a need for accepting responsibility – for a person’s life and making choices that are not just ones for immediate short-term comfort. You need to make an investment, and the investment is in health and education.
Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut
- 2.
I think humans will reach Mars, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime.
Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut
- 3.
Mars is there, waiting to be reached.
Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut
- 4.
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
Buzz AldrinAmerican astronaut