Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American former
astronaut
An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member aboard a spacecraft. Although generally r ...
,
engineer
Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who invent, design, analyze, build and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while considering the l ...
and
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
. He made three
spacewalks
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable atmosphere of Earth, Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmen ...
as pilot of the 1966
Gemini 12
Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini. It was the 10th and final crewed Gemini flight (Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 were ...
mission. As the
Lunar Module ''Eagle'' pilot on the 1969
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
mission, he and mission commander
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
were the first two people to land on the
Moon
The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
.
Born in
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2 ...
, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 from the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at West Point, with a degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
. He was commissioned into the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, and served as a jet fighter pilot during the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. He flew 66
combat missions
''Combat Missions'' was a one-hour-long reality TV show produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by former '' Survivor'' castaway Rudy Boesch that aired from January to April in 2002 on the USA Network. It pits four teams of highly experienced military ...
and shot down two
MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
aircraft.
After earning a
Doctor of Science
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree in
astronautics
Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field.
The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astronaut ...
from the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, Aldrin was selected as a member of
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Astronaut Group 3
NASA Astronaut Group 3—'The Fourteen'—was a group of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA for the Project Gemini, Gemini and Apollo program. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Seven were from the United States Air Force, four fr ...
, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. His doctoral thesis, ''Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous'', earned him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from fellow astronauts. His first space flight was in 1966 on Gemini 12 during which he spent over five hours on
extravehicular activity
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA in ...
. Three years later, Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (
UTC), nineteen minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface, while
command module pilot
Command may refer to:
Computing
* Command (computing), a statement in a computer language
* COMMAND.COM, the default operating system shell and command-line interpreter for DOS
* Command key, a modifier key on Apple Macintosh computer keyboards
* ...
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
remained in lunar orbit. A
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
elder, Aldrin became the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon when he privately took
communion. Apollo 11 effectively proved U.S. victory in the
Space Race
The Space Race was a 20th-century competition between two Cold War rivals, the United States and the Soviet Union, to achieve superior spaceflight capability. It had its origins in the ballistic missile-based nuclear arms race between the tw ...
by fulfilling a national goal proposed in 1961 by President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
"of landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the Earth" before the end of the decade.
After leaving NASA in 1971, Aldrin became Commandant of the
U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test flight officer, navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new ...
. He retired from the Air Force in 1972, after 21 years of service. His autobiographies ''Return to Earth'' (1973) and ''
Magnificent Desolation'' (2009) recount his struggles with
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...
and
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
in the years after leaving NASA. Aldrin continues to advocate for
space exploration
Space exploration is the use of astronomy and space technology to explore outer space. While the exploration of space is carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration though is conducted both by robotic spacec ...
, particularly a
human mission to Mars
The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos. ...
, and developed the
Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete traj ...
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
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
in 1969.
Early life
Aldrin was born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. on January 20, 1930, at
Mountainside Hospital
Hackensack Meridian Health Mountainside, also known as Mountainside Hospital, is an acute-care hospital located in Montclair, New Jersey, United States. The hospital has 396 beds and serves Northeastern Essex County. A part of the Hackensack Univ ...
in
Glen Ridge, New Jersey
Glen Ridge is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough’s population was 7,802, reflecting an increase of 275 (+3.7%) from the 2 ...
.
His parents,
Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. and Marion Aldrin ( Moon), lived in neighboring
Montclair. His father was an Army aviator during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
and the assistant commandant of the Army's test pilot school at
McCook Field
McCook Field was an airfield and aviation experimentation station in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It was operated by the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps and its successor the United States Army Air Service from 1917 to 1927. It was named fo ...
, Ohio, from 1919 to 1922, but left the Army in 1928 and became an executive at
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co-f ...
. Aldrin had two sisters: Madeleine, who was four years older, and Fay Ann, who was a year and a half older. His nickname, which became his legal first name in 1988,
arose as a result of Fay's mispronouncing "brother" as "buzzer", which was then shortened to "Buzz". He was a
Boy Scout
A Scout (in some countries a Boy Scout, Girl Scout, or Pathfinder) is a child, usually 10–18 years of age, participating in the worldwide Scouting movement. Because of the large age and development span, many Scouting associations have split ...
, achieving the rank of
Tenderfoot Scout.
Aldrin did well in school, maintaining an A average.
He played
football
Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...
and was the starting
center
Center or centre may refer to:
Mathematics
*Center (geometry), the middle of an object
* Center (algebra), used in various contexts
** Center (group theory)
** Center (ring theory)
* Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentricity ...
for
Montclair High School's undefeated 1946 state champion team. His father wanted him to go to the
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy (US Naval Academy, USNA, or Navy) is a federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as Secretary of the Navy. The Naval Academy ...
in
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...
and enrolled him at nearby
Severn School
Severn School was founded in 1914 by Roland M. Teel in Severna Park, Maryland, as a preparatory school for the United States Naval Academy. In 2013, Severn School merged with nearby Chesapeake Academy. Currently the school enrolls boys and girl ...
, a
preparatory school for Annapolis and even secured him a Naval Academy appointment from
Albert W. Hawkes
Albert Wahl Hawkes (November 20, 1878May 9, 1971) was a United States senator from New Jersey.
Studies
He was born in Chicago on November 20, 1878. He attended the public schools and graduated from Chicago College of Law in 1900, gaining admissio ...
, one of the
United States senator
The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
s from New Jersey. Aldrin attended Severn School in 1946, but had other ideas about his future career. He suffered from seasickness and considered ships a distraction from flying airplanes. He faced down his father and told him to ask Hawkes to change the nomination to the
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...
at
West Point, New York
West Point is the oldest continuously occupied military post in the United States. Located on the Hudson River in New York, West Point was identified by General George Washington as the most important strategic position in America during the Ame ...
.
Aldrin entered West Point in 1947.
He did well academically, finishing first in his class his plebe (first) year.
Aldrin was also an excellent athlete, competing in
pole vault
Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...
for the academy
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
team. In 1950, he traveled with a group of West Point cadets to Japan and the Philippines to study the military government policies of
Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur (26 January 18805 April 1964) was an American military leader who served as General of the Army for the United States, as well as a field marshal to the Philippine Army. He had served with distinction in World War I, was C ...
. During the trip, the
Korean War
, date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
broke out. On June 5, 1951, Aldrin graduated third in the class of 1951 with a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...
.
Military career
Among the top of his class, Aldrin had his choice of assignments. He chose the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Signal ...
, which had become a separate service in 1947 while Aldrin was still at West Point and did not yet have its own academy. He was commissioned as a
second lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces, comparable to NATO OF-1 rank.
Australia
The rank of second lieutenant existed in the military forces of the Australian colonies and Australian Army until ...
, and underwent basic flight training in
T-6 Texan
The North American Aviation T-6 Texan is an American single-engined advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF), United States Navy, Royal Air Force, Royal Canadian Air Force and other air force ...
s at
Bartow Air Base
Bartow Executive Airport is a public airport four miles (6 km) northeast of Bartow, in Polk County, Florida. It is owned by the Bartow Airport Authority.
Facilities
The airport covers and has three asphalt runways:
* Runway 5/23: 5,000 x ...
in
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
. His classmates included
Sam Johnson
Samuel Robert Johnson (October 11, 1930May 27, 2020) was an American politician who served as the U.S. representative for in Congress from 1991 to 2019. He was a member of the Republican Party. In October and November 2015, he was the acting ...
, who later became a
prisoner of war
A prisoner of war (POW) is a person who is held captive by a belligerent power during or immediately after an armed conflict. The earliest recorded usage of the phrase "prisoner of war" dates back to 1610.
Belligerents hold prisoners of wa ...
in Vietnam; the two became friends. At one point, Aldrin attempted a double
Immelmann turn
The term Immelmann turn, named after German World War I Eindecker fighter ace Lieutnant Max Immelmann, refers to two different aircraft maneuvers. In World War I aerial combat, an Immelmann turn was a maneuver used after an attack on another a ...
in a
T-28 Trojan
The North American Aviation T-28 Trojan is a radial-engine military trainer aircraft manufactured by North American Aviation and used by the United States Air Force and United States Navy beginning in the 1950s. Besides its use as a trainer, ...
and suffered a
grayout
A greyout is a transient loss of vision characterized by a perceived dimming of light and color, sometimes accompanied by a loss of peripheral vision. It is a precursor to fainting or a blackout and is caused by hypoxia (low brain oxygen level), ...
. He recovered in time to pull out at , averting what would have been a fatal crash.
![Buzz Aldrin in the cockpit of an F-86 Sabre](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Buzz_Aldrin_in_the_cockpit_of_an_F-86_Sabre.png)
When Aldrin was deciding what sort of aircraft he should fly, his father advised him to choose
bomber
A bomber is a military combat aircraft designed to attack ground and naval targets by dropping air-to-ground weaponry (such as bombs), launching aerial torpedo, torpedoes, or deploying air-launched cruise missiles. The first use of bombs dropped ...
s, because command of a bomber crew gave an opportunity to learn and hone leadership skills, which could open up better prospects for career advancement. Aldrin chose instead to fly
fighters
Fighter(s) or The Fighter(s) may refer to:
Combat and warfare
* Combatant, an individual legally entitled to engage in hostilities during an international armed conflict
* Fighter aircraft, a warplane designed to destroy or damage enemy warplan ...
. He moved to
Nellis Air Force Base
Nellis Air Force Base ("Nellis" colloq.) is a United States Air Force installation in southern Nevada. Nellis hosts air combat exercises such as Exercise Red Flag and close air support exercises such as Green Flag-West flown in " Military ...
in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
, where he learned to fly the
F-80 Shooting Star
The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...
and the
F-86 Sabre
The North American F-86 Sabre, sometimes called the Sabrejet, is a transonic jet fighter aircraft. Produced by North American Aviation, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept-wing fighter that could counter the swept-wing So ...
. Like most jet
fighter pilot
A fighter pilot is a military aviator trained to engage in air-to-air combat, air-to-ground combat and sometimes electronic warfare while in the cockpit of a fighter aircraft. Fighter pilots undergo specialized training in aerial warfare and ...
s of the era, he preferred the latter.
In December 1952, Aldrin was assigned to the
16th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron, which was part of the
51st Fighter-Interceptor Wing. At the time it was based at
Suwon Air Base
Suwon Air Base is a Republic of Korea Air Force (ROKAF) base near Suwon city.
Units
The base is home to the ROKAF's 10th Fighter Wing (제10전투비행단), comprising:
*101st Fighter Squadron flying KF-5E/KF-5F/F-5F
*153rd Fighter Squadron f ...
, about south of
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, and was engaged in combat operations as part of the Korean War. During an acclimatization flight, his main fuel system froze at 100percent power, which would have soon used up all his fuel. He was able to override the setting manually, but this required holding a button down, which in turn made it impossible to also use his radio. He barely managed to make it back under enforced radio silence. He flew 66
combat missions
''Combat Missions'' was a one-hour-long reality TV show produced by Mark Burnett and hosted by former '' Survivor'' castaway Rudy Boesch that aired from January to April in 2002 on the USA Network. It pits four teams of highly experienced military ...
in F-86 Sabres in Korea and shot down two
MiG-15
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...
aircraft.
The first MiG-15 he shot down was on May 14, 1953. Aldrin was flying about south of the
Yalu River
The Yalu River, known by Koreans as the Amrok River or Amnok River, is a river on the border between North Korea and China. Together with the Tumen River to its east, and a small portion of Paektu Mountain, the Yalu forms the border between ...
, when he saw two MiG-15 fighters below him. Aldrin opened fire on one of the MiGs, whose pilot may never have seen him coming. The June 8, 1953, issue of ''
Life
Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
'' magazine featured gun camera footage taken by Aldrin of the pilot ejecting from his damaged aircraft.
Aldrin's second aerial victory came on June 4, 1953, when he accompanied aircraft from the
39th Fighter-Interceptor Squadron in an attack on an airbase in North Korea. Their newer aircraft were faster than his and he had trouble keeping up. He then spotted a MiG approaching from above. This time, Aldrin and his opponent spotted each other at about the same time. They went through a series of
scissor maneuvers, attempting to get behind the other. Aldrin was first to do so, but his gun sight jammed. He then manually sighted his gun and fired. He then had to pull out, as the two aircraft had gotten too low for the dogfight to continue. Aldrin saw the MiG's canopy open and the pilot eject, although Aldrin was uncertain whether there was sufficient time for a parachute to open. For his service in Korea, he was awarded two
Distinguished Flying Crosses and three
Air Medal
The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight.
Criteria
The Air Medal was establish ...
s.
Aldrin's year-long tour ended in December 1953, by which time the fighting in Korea had ended. Aldrin was assigned as an
aerial gunnery instructor at Nellis. In December 1954 he became an
aide-de-camp to
Brigadier General
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
Don Z. Zimmerman, the
Dean of Faculty
Dean is a title employed in academic administrations such as colleges or universities for a person with significant authority over a specific academic unit, over a specific area of concern, or both. In the United States and Canada, deans are usua ...
at the nascent
United States Air Force Academy
The United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) is a United States service academy in El Paso County, Colorado, immediately north of Colorado Springs. It educates cadets for service in the officer corps of the United States Air Force and Uni ...
, which opened in 1955.
That same year, he graduated from the
Squadron Officer School
Squadron Officer School (SOS), is a 5.5-week-long Professional Military Education (PME) course for U.S. Air Force and Space Force Captains, Department of the Air Force Civilian (DAFC) equivalents and International Officers. It fulfills the U.S ...
at
Maxwell Air Force Base
Maxwell Air Force Base , officially known as Maxwell-Gunter Air Force Base, is a United States Air Force (USAF) installation under the Air Education and Training Command (AETC). The installation is located in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. O ...
in
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama (state song), Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County, Al ...
. From 1956 to 1959 he flew
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre is an American supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force (USAF) from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard (ANG) until 1979. The first of the Century Series of ...
s equipped with
nuclear weapon
A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions ( thermonuclear bomb), producing a nuclear explosion. Both bom ...
s as a flight commander in the
22nd Fighter Squadron
The 22nd Fighter Squadron, sometimes written as 22d Fighter Squadron, (22 FS) is an inactive United States Air Force unit. It was last assigned to the 52nd Operations Group and stationed at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany.
Originally constituted ...
,
36th Fighter Wing, stationed at
Bitburg Air Base
Bitburg (; french: Bitbourg; lb, Béibreg) is a city in Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate approximately 25 km (16 mi.) northwest of Trier and 50 km (31 mi.) northeast of Luxembourg city. The American Spangdahlem A ...
in
West Germany
West Germany is the colloquial term used to indicate the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG; german: Bundesrepublik Deutschland , BRD) between its formation on 23 May 1949 and the German reunification through the accession of East Germany on 3 O ...
.
Among his squadron colleagues was
Ed White, who had been a year behind him at West Point. After White left West Germany to study for a master's degree at the
University of Michigan
, mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth"
, former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821)
, budget = $10.3 billion (2021)
, endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...
in
aeronautical engineering
Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: Aeronautics, aeronautical engineering and Astronautics, astronautical engineering. A ...
, he wrote to Aldrin encouraging him to do the same.
![Buzz Aldrin in the cockpit of a Lockheed T-33A Shooting Star](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ac/Buzz_Aldrin_in_the_cockpit_of_a_Lockheed_T-33A_Shooting_Star.jpg)
Through the
Air Force Institute of Technology
The Air Force Institute of Technology (AFIT) is a graduate school and provider of professional and continuing education for the United States Armed Forces and is part of the United States Air Force. It is in Ohio at Wright-Patterson Air Forc ...
, Aldrin enrolled as a graduate student at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
(MIT) in 1959 intending to earn a master's degree.
Richard Battin
Richard "Dick" Horace Battin (March 3, 1925 – February 8, 2014) was an American engineer, applied mathematician and educator who led the design of the Apollo guidance computer during the Apollo missions during the 1960s.
Battin was born on Ma ...
was the professor for his
astrodynamics
Orbital mechanics or astrodynamics is the application of ballistics and celestial mechanics to the practical problems concerning the motion of rockets and other spacecraft. The motion of these objects is usually calculated from Newton's laws of ...
class. Two other USAF officers who later became astronauts,
David Scott
David Randolph Scott (born June 6, 1932) is an American retired test pilot and NASA astronaut who was the seventh person to walk on the Moon. Selected as part of the third group of astronauts in 1963, Scott flew to space three times and c ...
and
Edgar Mitchell
Edgar Dean Mitchell (September 17, 1930 – February 4, 2016) was a United States Navy officer and aviator, test pilot, aeronautical engineer, ufologist, and NASA astronaut. As the Lunar Module Pilot of Apollo 14 in 1971 he spent nine hour ...
, took the course around this time. Another USAF officer,
Charles Duke
Charles Moss Duke Jr. (born October 3, 1935) is an American former astronaut, United States Air Force (USAF) officer and test pilot. As Lunar Module pilot of Apollo 16 in 1972, he became the tenth and youngest person to walk on the Moon, at ...
, also took the course and wrote his 1964 master's degree at MIT under the supervision of
Laurence R. Young.
Aldrin enjoyed the classwork and soon decided to pursue a doctorate instead. In January 1963, he earned a
Sc.D.
Doctor of Science ( la, links=no, Scientiae Doctor), usually abbreviated Sc.D., D.Sc., S.D., or D.S., is an academic research degree awarded in a number of countries throughout the world. In some countries, "Doctor of Science" is the degree used f ...
degree in
astronautics
Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the theory and practice of travel beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science its overarching field.
The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astronaut ...
.
His doctoral thesis was ''Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous'', the dedication of which read: "In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space, this is dedicated to the crew members of this country's present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!"
Aldrin chose his doctoral thesis in the hope that it would help him be selected as an astronaut, although it meant foregoing
test pilot
A test pilot is an aircraft pilot with additional training to fly and evaluate experimental, newly produced and modified aircraft with specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques.Stinton, Darrol. ''Flying Qualities and Flight Testing ...
training, which was a prerequisite at the time.
After completing his doctorate Aldrin was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, working with the
Lockheed Aircraft Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace manufacturer. Lockheed was founded in 1926 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995. Its founder, Allan Lockheed, had earlier founded the similarly named but o ...
on enhancing the maneuver capabilities of the
Agena target vehicle which was to be used by
NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil space program, aeronautics research, and space research.
NASA was established in 1958, succeeding t ...
's
Project Gemini
Project Gemini () was NASA's second human spaceflight program. Conducted between projects Mercury and Apollo, Gemini started in 1961 and concluded in 1966. The Gemini spacecraft carried a two-astronaut crew. Ten Gemini crews and 16 individual ...
. He was then posted to the Space Systems Division's field office at NASA's
Manned Spacecraft Center
The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...
in
Houston
Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
, where he was involved in integrating
Department of Defense Department of Defence or Department of Defense may refer to:
Current departments of defence
* Department of Defence (Australia)
* Department of National Defence (Canada)
* Department of Defence (Ireland)
* Department of National Defense (Philippin ...
experiments into Project Gemini flights.
NASA career
Aldrin initially applied to join the astronaut corps when NASA's
Astronaut Group 2
NASA Astronaut Group 2, also known as the Next Nine and the New Nine, was the second group of astronauts selected by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Their selection was announced on September 17, 1962. The group augmen ...
was selected in 1962. His application was rejected on the grounds that he was not a test pilot. Aldrin was aware of the requirement and asked for a waiver but the request was turned down. On May 15, 1963, NASA announced another round of selections, this time with the requirement that applicants had either test pilot experience or 1,000 hours of flying time in jet aircraft. Aldrin had over 2,500 hours of flying time, of which 2,200 was in jets. His selection as one of fourteen members of NASA's
Astronaut Group 3
NASA Astronaut Group 3—'The Fourteen'—was a group of fourteen astronauts selected by NASA for the Project Gemini, Gemini and Apollo program. Their selection was announced in October 1963. Seven were from the United States Air Force, four fr ...
was announced on October 18, 1963. This made him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree which, combined with his expertise in orbital mechanics, earned him the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous" from his fellow astronauts. Although Aldrin was both the most educated and the rendezvous expert in the astronaut corps, he was aware that the nickname was not always intended as a compliment. Upon completion of initial training, each new astronaut was assigned a field of expertise; in Aldrin's case, it was mission planning, trajectory analysis, and flight plans.
Gemini program
Jim Lovell
James Arthur Lovell Jr. (; born March 25, 1928) is an American retired astronaut, naval aviator, test pilot and mechanical engineer. In 1968, as command module pilot of Apollo 8, he became, with Frank Borman and William Anders, one of th ...
and Aldrin were selected as the backup crew of
Gemini 10
Gemini 10 (officially Gemini X) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the 8th crewed Gemini flight, the 16th crewed American flight, and t ...
, commander and pilot respectively. Backup crews usually became the prime crew of the third following mission, but the last scheduled mission in the program was
Gemini 12
Gemini 12 (officially Gemini XII) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Project Gemini. It was the 10th and final crewed Gemini flight (Gemini 1 and Gemini 2 were ...
. The February 28, 1966, deaths of the
Gemini 9
Gemini 9A (officially Gemini IX-A) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was a 1966 crewed spaceflight in NASA's Gemini program. It was the seventh crewed Gemini flight, the 13th crewed American flight ...
prime crew,
Elliot See
Elliot McKay See Jr. (July 23, 1927 – February 28, 1966) was an American engineer, naval aviator, test pilot and NASA astronaut.
See received an appointment to the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1945. He graduated in 1949 with a Ba ...
and
Charles Bassett
Charles Arthur Bassett II (December 30, 1931 – February 28, 1966), (Major (United States), Major, United States Air Force, USAF), was an American electrical engineer and United States Air Force test pilot. He went to Ohio State University f ...
, in an
air crash
An aviation accident is defined by the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation, Convention on International Civil Aviation Annex 13 as an occurrence associated with the operation of an aircraft, which takes place from the time any p ...
, led to Lovell and Aldrin being moved up one mission to backup for Gemini 9, which put them in position as prime crew for Gemini 12. They were designated its prime crew on June 17, 1966, with
Gordon Cooper
Leroy Gordon "Gordo" Cooper Jr. (March 6, 1927 – October 4, 2004) was an American aerospace engineer, test pilot, United States Air Force pilot, and the youngest of the seven original astronauts in Project Mercury, the first human spac ...
and
Gene Cernan
Eugene Andrew Cernan (; March 14, 1934 – January 16, 2017) was an American astronaut, naval aviator, electrical engineer, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. During the Apollo 17 mission, Cernan became the eleventh human being to ...
as their backups.
Gemini 12
![S66-63536](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e6/S66-63536.jpg)
Initially, Gemini 12's mission objectives were uncertain. As the last scheduled mission, it was primarily intended to complete tasks that had not been successfully or fully carried out on earlier missions. While NASA had successfully performed rendezvous during Project Gemini, the
gravity-gradient stabilization
Gravity-gradient stabilization (a.k.a. "tidal stabilization") is a method of stabilizing artificial satellites or space tethers in a fixed orientation using only the orbited body's mass distribution and gravitational field. The main advantage ove ...
test on
Gemini 11
Gemini 11 (officially Gemini XI) With Gemini IV, NASA changed to Roman numerals for Gemini mission designations. was the ninth crewed spaceflight mission of NASA's Project Gemini, which flew from September 12 to 15, 1966. It was the 17th crewed ...
was unsuccessful. NASA also had concerns about
extravehicular activity
Extravehicular activity (EVA) is any activity done by an astronaut in outer space outside a spacecraft. In the absence of a breathable Earthlike atmosphere, the astronaut is completely reliant on a space suit for environmental support. EVA in ...
(EVA). Cernan on Gemini9 and
Richard Gordon on Gemini11 had suffered from fatigue carrying out tasks during EVA, but
Michael Collins Michael Collins or Mike Collins most commonly refers to:
* Michael Collins (Irish leader) (1890–1922), Irish revolutionary leader, soldier, and politician
* Michael Collins (astronaut) (1930–2021), American astronaut, member of Apollo 11 and Ge ...
had a successful EVA on Gemini 10, which suggested that the order in which he had performed his tasks was an important factor.
It therefore fell to Aldrin to complete Gemini's EVA goals. NASA formed a committee to give him a better chance of success. It dropped the test of the Air Force's astronaut maneuvering unit (AMU) that had given Gordon trouble on Gemini11 so Aldrin could focus on EVA. NASA revamped the training program, opting for underwater training over
parabolic flight
A reduced-gravity aircraft is a type of fixed-wing aircraft that provides brief near-weightless environments for training astronauts, conducting research and making gravity-free movie shots.
Versions of such airplanes were operated by the NAS ...
. Aircraft flying a parabolic trajectory had given astronauts an experience of weightlessness in training, but there was a delay between each parabola which gave astronauts several minutes of rest. It also encouraged performing tasks quickly, whereas in space they had to be done slowly and deliberately. Training in a viscous, buoyant fluid gave a better simulation. NASA also placed additional handholds on the capsule, which were increased from nine on Gemini9 to 44 on Gemini12, and created workstations where he could anchor his feet.
![GPN-2000-001420](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c7/GPN-2000-001420.jpg)
Gemini 12's main objectives were to rendezvous with a target vehicle, and fly the spacecraft and target vehicle together using gravity-gradient stabilization, perform docked maneuvers using the Agena propulsion system to change orbit, conduct a tethered stationkeeping exercise and three EVAs, and demonstrate an automatic reentry. Gemini12 also carried 14 scientific, medical, and technological experiments.
It was not a trailblazing mission; rendezvous from above had already been successfully performed by Gemini 9, and the tethered vehicle exercise by Gemini 11. Even gravity-gradient stabilization had been attempted by Gemini 11, albeit unsuccessfully.
Gemini12 was launched from
Launch Complex 19
Launch Complex 19 (LC-19) is a deactivated launch site on Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida used by NASA to launch all of the Gemini crewed spaceflights. It was also used by uncrewed Titan I and Titan II missiles.
LC-19 was in use fro ...
at
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
on 20:46 UTC on November 11, 1966. The
Gemini Agena Target Vehicle had been launched about an hour and a half before.
The mission's first major objective was to rendezvous with this target vehicle. As the target and Gemini12 capsule drew closer together, radar contact between the two deteriorated until it became unusable, forcing the crew to rendezvous manually. Aldrin used a
sextant
A sextant is a doubly reflecting navigation instrument that measures the angular distance between two visible objects. The primary use of a sextant is to measure the angle between an astronomical object and the horizon for the purposes of celes ...
and rendezvous charts he helped create to give Lovell the right information to put the spacecraft in position to dock with the target vehicle. Gemini12 achieved the fourth
docking with an Agena target vehicle.
The next task was to practice undocking and docking again. On undocking, one of the three latches caught, and Lovell had to use the Gemini's thrusters to free the spacecraft. Aldrin then docked again successfully a few minutes later. The flight plan then called for the Agena main engine to be fired to take the docked spacecraft into a higher orbit, but eight minutes after the Agena had been launched, it had suffered a loss of chamber pressure. The Mission and Flight Directors therefore decided not to risk the main engine. This would be the only mission objective that was not achieved. Instead, the Agena's secondary propulsion system was used to allow the spacecraft to view the
solar eclipse of November 12, 1966
A total solar eclipse occurred on November 12, 1966. A solar eclipse occurs when the Moon passes between Earth and the Sun, thereby totally or partly obscuring the image of the Sun for a viewer on Earth. A total solar eclipse occurs when the Moo ...
, over South America, which Lovell and Aldrin photographed through the spacecraft windows.
![Gemini 12 recovery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Gemini_12_recovery.jpg)
Aldrin performed three EVAs. The first was a standup EVA on November 12, in which the spacecraft door was opened and he stood up, but did not leave the spacecraft. The standup EVA mimicked some of the actions he would do during his free-flight EVA, so he could compare the effort expended between the two. It set an EVA record of two hours and twenty minutes. The next day Aldrin performed his free-flight EVA. He climbed across the newly installed hand-holds to the Agena and installed the cable needed for the gravity-gradient stabilization experiment. Aldrin performed numerous tasks, including installing electrical connectors and testing tools that would be needed for
Project Apollo. A dozen two-minute rest periods prevented him from becoming fatigued. His second EVA concluded after two hours and six minutes. A third, 55-minute standup EVA was conducted on November 14, during which Aldrin took photographs, conducted experiments, and discarded some unneeded items.
On November 15, the crew initiated the automatic reentry system and
splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean, where they were picked up by a helicopter, which took them to the awaiting aircraft carrier .
After the mission, his wife realized he had fallen into a depression, something she had not seen before.
Apollo program
Lovell and Aldrin were assigned to an Apollo crew with
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong (August 5, 1930 – August 25, 2012) was an American astronaut and aeronautical engineer who became the first person to walk on the Moon in 1969. He was also a naval aviator, test pilot, and university professor.
...
as Commander, Lovell as Command Module Pilot (CMP), and Aldrin as Lunar Module Pilot (LMP). Their assignment as the backup crew of
Apollo 9
Apollo 9 (March 313, 1969) was the third human spaceflight in NASA's Apollo program. Flown in low Earth orbit, it was the second crewed Apollo mission that the United States launched via a Saturn V rocket, and was the first flight of the ful ...
was announced on November 20, 1967. Due to design and manufacturing delays in the lunar module (LM),
Apollo 8
Apollo 8 (December 21–27, 1968) was the first crewed spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit and the first human spaceflight to reach the Moon. The crew orbited the Moon ten times without landing, and then departed safely back to Earth. These ...
and Apollo9 swapped prime and backup crews, and Armstrong's crew became the backup for Apollo 8. Under the normal crew rotation scheme, Armstrong was expected to command
Apollo 11
Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, an ...
.
![Neil (left) watches Buzz take a documentary photo of a sample](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/73/Neil_%28left%29_watches_Buzz_take_a_documentary_photo_of_a_sample.jpg)
Michael Collins, the CMP on the Apollo8 prime crew, required surgery to remove a bone spur on his spine. Lovell took his place on the Apollo8 crew. When Collins recovered he joined Armstrong's crew as CMP. In the meantime,
Fred Haise
Fred Wallace Haise Jr. ( ; born November 14, 1933) is an American former NASA astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot with the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, and a test pilot. He is one of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, having f ...
filled in as backup LMP, and Aldrin as backup CMP for Apollo 8. While the CMP usually occupied the center couch on launch, Aldrin occupied it rather than Collins, as he had already been trained to operate its console on liftoff before Collins arrived.
Apollo11 was the second American space mission made up entirely of astronauts who had already flown in space, the first being
Apollo 10
Apollo 10 (May 18–26, 1969) was a human spaceflight, the fourth crewed mission in the United States Apollo program, and the second (after Apollo8) to orbit the Moon. NASA described it as a "dress rehearsal" for the first Moon landing, and ...
. The next would not be flown until
STS-26
STS-26 was the 26th NASA Space Shuttle mission and the seventh flight of the orbiter ''Discovery''. The mission launched from Kennedy Space Center, Florida, on September 29, 1988, and landed four days later on October 3, 1988. STS-26 was decla ...
in 1988.
Deke Slayton
Donald Kent "Deke" Slayton (March 1, 1924 – June 13, 1993) was a United States Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer, and test pilot who was selected as one of the original NASA Mercury Seven astronauts. He went on to become NASA's first ...
, who was responsible for astronaut flight assignments, gave Armstrong the option to replace Aldrin with Lovell, since some thought Aldrin was difficult to work with. Armstrong thought it over for a day before declining. He had no issues working with Aldrin, and thought Lovell deserved his own command.
Early versions of the EVA checklist had the Lunar Module Pilot as the first to step onto the lunar surface. However, when Aldrin learned that this might be amended, he lobbied within NASA for the original procedure to be followed. Multiple factors contributed to the final decision, including the physical positioning of the astronauts within the compact lunar lander, which made it easier for Armstrong to be the first to exit the spacecraft. Furthermore, there was little support for Aldrin's views among senior astronauts who would command later Apollo missions. Collins has commented that he thought Aldrin "resents not being first on the Moon more than he appreciates being second".
Aldrin and Armstrong did not have time to perform much geological training. The first lunar landing focused more on landing on the Moon and making it safely back to Earth than the scientific aspects of the mission. The duo was briefed by NASA and
USGS
The United States Geological Survey (USGS), formerly simply known as the Geological Survey, is a scientific agency of the United States government. The scientists of the USGS study the landscape of the United States, its natural resources, a ...
geologists. They made one geological field trip to
West Texas
West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio.
No consensus exists on the boundary betwee ...
. The press followed them, and a helicopter made it hard for Aldrin and Armstrong to hear their instructor.
Apollo 11
On the morning of July 16, 1969, an estimated one million spectators watched the launch of Apollo11 from the highways and beaches in the vicinity of
Cape Canaveral
, image = cape canaveral.jpg
, image_size = 300
, caption = View of Cape Canaveral from space in 1991
, map = Florida#USA
, map_width = 300
, type =Cape
, map_caption = Location in Florida
, location ...
, Florida. The launch was televised live in 33 countries, with an estimated 25 million viewers in the United States alone. Millions more listened to radio broadcasts. Propelled by a
Saturn V
Saturn V is a retired American super heavy-lift launch vehicle developed by NASA under the Apollo program for human exploration of the Moon. The rocket was human-rated, with multistage rocket, three stages, and powered with liquid-propellant r ...
rocket, Apollo11 lifted off from
Launch Complex 39
Launch Complex 39 (LC-39) is a rocket launch site at the John F. Kennedy Space Center on Merritt Island in Florida, United States. The site and its collection of facilities were originally built as the Apollo program's "Moonport" and later mo ...
at the
Kennedy Space Center
The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...
on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00
UTC (9:32:00
EDT), and entered Earth orbit twelve minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the
S-IVB
The S-IVB (pronounced "S-four-B") was the third stage on the Saturn V and second stage on the Saturn IB launch vehicles. Built by the Douglas Aircraft Company, it had one J-2 (rocket engine), J-2 rocket engine. For lunar missions it was fired twi ...
third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon. About thirty minutes later, the
transposition, docking, and extraction
Transposition, docking, and extraction (often abbreviated to transposition and docking) was a maneuver performed during Apollo lunar landing missions from 1969 to 1972, to withdraw the Apollo Lunar Module (LM) from its adapter housing which sec ...
maneuver was performed: this involved separating the
command module ''Columbia'' from the spent S-IVB stage, turning around, and docking with
lunar module ''Eagle''. After the lunar module was extracted, the combined spacecraft headed for the Moon, while the rocket stage flew on a trajectory past the Moon.
![Aldrin Apollo 11 original](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/98/Aldrin_Apollo_11_original.jpg)
On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter
lunar orbit
In astronomy, lunar orbit (also known as a selenocentric orbit) is the orbit of an object around the Moon.
As used in the space program, this refers not to the orbit of the Moon about the Earth, but to orbits by spacecraft around the Moon. The ...
. In the thirty orbits that followed,
the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern
Sea of Tranquillity
Mare Tranquillitatis (Latin ''tranquillitātis'', the Sea of Tranquillity or Sea of Tranquility; see spelling differences) is a lunar mare that sits within the Tranquillitatis basin on the Moon. It is the first location on another world to be v ...
about southwest of the crater
Sabine D. At 12:52:00 UTC on July 20, Aldrin and Armstrong entered ''Eagle'', and began the final preparations for lunar descent. At 17:44:00 ''Eagle'' separated from the ''Columbia''. Collins, alone aboard ''Columbia'', inspected ''Eagle'' as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged and that the landing gear had correctly deployed.
Throughout the descent, Aldrin called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the ''Eagle''. Five minutes into the descent burn, and above the surface of the Moon, the
LM guidance computer (LGC) distracted the crew with the first of several unexpected alarms that indicated that it could not complete all its tasks in real time and had to postpone some of them. Due to the 1202/1201 program alarms caused by spurious rendezvous radar inputs to the LGC,
[
] Armstrong manually landed the ''Eagle'' instead of using the computer's autopilot. The ''Eagle'' landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.
As a
Presbyterian elder
Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of ecclesiastical polity, church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually ...
, Aldrin was the first and only person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon. He radioed Earth: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way." Using a kit given to him by his pastor, he took
communion and read Jesus's words from the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
's John 15:5, as Aldrin records it: "I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me." But he kept this ceremony secret because of a lawsuit over the
reading of Genesis on Apollo 8. In 1970 he commented: "It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements."
On reflection in his 2009 book, Aldrin said, "Perhaps, if I had it to do over again, I would not choose to celebrate communion. Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the moon in the name of all mankind – be they
Christians
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
,
Jews
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
,
Muslims
Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abraha ...
,
animists
Animism (from Latin: ' meaning 'breath, spirit, life') is the belief that objects, places, and creatures all possess a distinct spiritual essence. Potentially, animism perceives all things—animals, plants, rocks, rivers, weather systems, huma ...
,
agnostics
Agnosticism is the view or belief that the existence of God, of the divine or the supernatural is unknown or unknowable. (page 56 in 1967 edition) Another definition provided is the view that "human reason is incapable of providing sufficient ...
, or
atheists
Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no d ...
. But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo11 experience than by giving thanks to God." Aldrin shortly hit upon a more universally human reference on the voyage back to Earth by publicly broadcasting his reading of the
Old Testament
The Old Testament (often abbreviated OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew writings by the Israelites. The ...
's Psalm 8:3–4, as Aldrin records: "When I considered the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou art mindful of him." Photos of these liturgical documents reveal the conflict's development as Aldrin expresses faith.
![Buzz salutes the U](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dd/Buzz_salutes_the_U.S._Flag.jpg)
Preparations for the EVA began at 23:43. Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, ''Eagle'' was depressurized, and the hatch was opened at 02:39:33 on July 21. Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nineteen minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface. Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second people, respectively, to walk on the Moon. Aldrin's first words after he set foot on the Moon were "Beautiful view", to which Armstrong asked "Isn't that something? Magnificent sight out here." Aldrin answered, "Magnificent desolation." Aldrin and Armstrong had trouble erecting the
Lunar Flag Assembly
The Lunar Flag Assembly (LFA) was a kit containing a flag of the United States designed to be erected on the Moon during the Apollo program. Six such flag assemblies were planted on the Moon. The nylon flags were hung on telescoping staffs and hor ...
, but with some effort secured it into the surface. Aldrin saluted the flag while Armstrong photographed the scene. Aldrin positioned himself in front of the video camera and began experimenting with different locomotion methods to move about the lunar surface to aid future moonwalkers. During these experiments, President Nixon called the duo to congratulate them on the successful landing. Nixon closed with, "Thank you very much, and all of us look forward to seeing you on the ''Hornet'' on Thursday." Aldrin replied, "I look forward to that very much, sir."
After the call, Aldrin began photographing and inspecting the spacecraft to document and verify its condition before their flight. Aldrin and Armstrong then set up a
seismometer
A seismometer is an instrument that responds to ground noises and shaking such as caused by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and explosions. They are usually combined with a timing device and a recording device to form a seismograph. The outpu ...
, to detect moonquakes, and a
laser beam
A laser is a device that emits light through a process of optical amplification based on the stimulated emission of electromagnetic radiation. The word "laser" is an acronym for "light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation". The fir ...
reflector. While Armstrong inspected a crater, Aldrin began the difficult task of hammering a metal tube into the surface to obtain a core sample. Most of the iconic photographs of an astronaut on the Moon taken by the Apollo11 astronauts are of Aldrin; Armstrong appears in just two color photographs. "As the sequence of lunar operations evolved," Aldrin explained, "Neil had the camera most of the time, and the majority of the pictures taken on the Moon that include an astronaut are of me. It wasn't until we were back on Earth and in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory looking over the pictures that we realized there were few pictures of Neil. My fault perhaps, but we had never simulated this during our training."
Aldrin reentered ''Eagle'' first but, as he tells it, before ascending the module's ladder he became the first person to urinate on the Moon. With some difficulty they lifted film and two sample boxes containing of lunar surface material to the hatch using a flat cable pulley device.
Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his sleeve pocket, and Aldrin tossed the bag down. It contained a mission patch for the
Apollo 1
Apollo 1, initially designated AS-204, was intended to be the first crewed mission of the Apollo program, the American undertaking to land the first man on the Moon. It was planned to launch on February 21, 1967, as the first low Earth orbita ...
flight that Ed White never flew due to
his death in a cabin fire during the launch rehearsal; medallions commemorating
Yuri Gagarin
Yuri Alekseyevich Gagarin; Gagarin's first name is sometimes transliterated as ''Yuriy'', ''Youri'', or ''Yury''. (9 March 1934 – 27 March 1968) was a Soviet pilot and cosmonaut who became the first human to journey into outer space. Tr ...
, the first man in space (who had
died the previous year in a test flight accident), and
Vladimir Komarov
Vladimir Mikhaylovich Komarov ( rus, Влади́мир Миха́йлович Комаро́в, p=vlɐˈdʲimʲɪr mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ kəmɐˈrof; 16 March 1927 – 24 April 1967) was a Soviet test pilot, aerospace engineer, and cosmonaut. ...
, the first man to
die in a space flight, and a silicon disk etched with goodwill messages from 73 nations. After transferring to LM
life support
Life support comprises the treatments and techniques performed in an emergency in order to support life after the failure of one or more vital organs. Healthcare providers and emergency medical technicians are generally certified to perform basic ...
, the explorers lightened the ascent stage for the return to lunar orbit by tossing out their backpacks, lunar overshoes, an empty
Hasselblad
Victor Hasselblad AB is a Swedish manufacturer of medium format cameras, photographic equipment and image scanners based in Gothenburg, Sweden. The company originally became known for its classic analog medium-format cameras that used a waist- ...
camera, and other equipment. The hatch was closed again at 05:01, and they repressurized the lunar module and settled down to sleep.
![Apollo 11 bootprint](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/89/Apollo_11_bootprint.jpg)
At 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle'' ascent stage to rejoin Collins aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit. After rendezvous with ''Columbia'', the ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit, and ''Columbia'' made its way back to Earth. It splashed down in the Pacific east of
Wake Island
Wake Island ( mh, Ānen Kio, translation=island of the kio flower; also known as Wake Atoll) is a coral atoll in the western Pacific Ocean in the northeastern area of the Micronesia subregion, east of Guam, west of Honolulu, southeast of To ...
at 16:50 UTC (05:50 local time) on July 24.
The total mission duration was 195 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds.
Bringing back
pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
s from the lunar surface was considered a possibility, albeit remote, so divers passed biological isolation garments (BIGs) to the astronauts, and assisted them into the life raft. The astronauts were winched on board the recovery helicopter, and flown to the aircraft carrier , where they spent the first part of the Earth-based portion of 21 days of quarantine. On August 13, the three astronauts rode in ticker-tape parades in their honor in New York and Chicago, attended by an estimated six million people. An official
state dinner
A state banquet is an official banquet hosted by the head of state in his or her official residence for another head of state, or sometimes head of government, and other guests. Usually as part of a state visit or diplomatic conference, it is ...
that evening in Los Angeles celebrated the flight. President
Richard Nixon
Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...
honored each of them with the highest American civilian award, the
Presidential Medal of Freedom
The Presidential Medal of Freedom is the highest civilian award of the United States, along with the Congressional Gold Medal. It is an award bestowed by the president of the United States to recognize people who have made "an especially merito ...
(with distinction).
On September 16, 1969, the astronauts addressed a
joint session of Congress
A joint session of the United States Congress is a gathering of members of the two chambers of the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Joint sessions can be held on a ...
where they thanked the representatives for their past support and implored them to continue funding the space effort. The astronauts embarked on a 38-day world tour on September 29 that brought the astronauts to 22 foreign countries and included visits with leaders of multiple countries. The last leg of the tour included Australia, South Korea, and Japan; the crew returned to the US on November 5, 1969.
After Apollo 11, Aldrin was kept busy giving speeches and making public appearances. In October 1970, he joined Soviet cosmonauts
Andriyan Nikolayev
Andriyan Grigoryevich Nikolayev ( Chuvash and russian: Андриян Григорьевич
Николаев; 5 September 1929 – 3 July 2004) was a Soviet cosmonaut. In 1962, aboard Vostok 3, he became the third Soviet cosmonaut to fly into s ...
and
Vitaly Sevastyanov
Vitaly Ivanovich Sevastyanov (russian: Вита́лий Ива́нович Севастья́нов; 8 July 1935 – 5 April 2010) was a Soviet people, Soviet astronaut, cosmonaut and an engineer who flew on the Soyuz 9 and Soyuz 18 missions ...
on their tour of the NASA space centers. He was also involved in the design of the
Space Shuttle
The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program na ...
. With the Apollo program coming to an end, Aldrin, now a
colonel
Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations.
In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...
, saw few prospects at NASA, and decided to return to the Air Force on July 1, 1971. During his NASA career, he had spent 289 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which 7 hours and 52 minutes was in EVA.
Post-NASA activities
Aerospace Research Pilot School
![Buzz Aldrin black and white dress uniform photo portrait](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Buzz_Aldrin_black_and_white_dress_uniform_photo_portrait.jpg)
Aldrin hoped to become Commandant of Cadets at the United States Air Force Academy, but the job went to his West Point classmate
Hoyt S. Vandenberg Jr. Aldrin was made Commandant of the
USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School
The U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School (USAF TPS) is the Air Force's advanced flight training school that trains experimental test pilots, flight test engineers, and flight test navigators to carry out tests and evaluations of new aerospace weap ...
at
Edwards Air Force Base
Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) is a United States Air Force installation in California. Most of the base sits in Kern County, but its eastern end is in San Bernardino County and a southern arm is in Los Angeles County. The hub of the base is E ...
, California. Aldrin had neither managerial nor test pilot experience, but a third of the training curriculum was devoted to astronaut training and students flew a modified
F-104 Starfighter
The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fi ...
to the edge of space. Fellow Group 3 astronaut and moonwalker
Alan Bean
Alan LaVern Bean (March 15, 1932 – May 26, 2018) was an American naval officer and aviator, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, NASA astronaut and painter; he was the fourth person to walk on the Moon. He was selected to become an astron ...
considered him well qualified for the job.
Aldrin did not get along well with his superior, Brigadier General
Robert M. White
Robert Michael "Bob" White (July 6, 1924 – March 17, 2010) (Maj Gen, USAF) was an American electrical engineer, test pilot, fighter pilot, and astronaut. He was one of twelve pilots who flew the North American X-15, an experimental spaceplane ...
, who had earned his USAF
astronaut wings
The United States Astronaut Badge is a badge of the United States, awarded to military aviation, military and civilian personnel who have completed training and performed a successful spaceflight. A variation of the astronaut badge is also issu ...
flying the
X-15
The North American X-15 is a hypersonic rocket-powered aircraft. It was operated by the United States Air Force and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration as part of the X-plane series of experimental aircraft. The X-15 set speed ...
. Aldrin's celebrity status led people to defer to him more than the higher-ranking general. There were two crashes at Edwards, of an
A-7 Corsair II
The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV).
The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...
and a
T-33
The Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star (or T-Bird) is an American subsonic jet trainer. It was produced by Lockheed and made its first flight in 1948. The T-33 was developed from the Lockheed P-80/F-80 starting as TP-80C/TF-80C in development, then d ...
. No people died, but the aircraft were destroyed and the accidents were attributed to insufficient supervision, which placed the blame on Aldrin. What he had hoped would be an enjoyable job became a highly stressful one.
Aldrin went to see the base surgeon. In addition to signs of
depression, he experienced neck and shoulder pains, and hoped that the latter might explain the former. He was hospitalized for depression at
Wilford Hall Medical Center
Wilford Hall Ambulatory Surgical Center, formerly known as Wilford Hall Medical Center, is a U.S. Air Force medical treatment facility located on the grounds of San Antonio's Lackland Air Force Base. Operated by the 59th Medical Wing
The 59th ...
for four weeks. His mother had committed suicide in May 1968, and he was plagued with guilt that his fame after Gemini12 had contributed. His mother's father had also committed suicide, and he believed he inherited depression from them. At the time there was great stigma related to mental illness and he was aware that it could not only be career-ending, but could result in his being ostracized socially.
In February 1972,
General
A general officer is an Officer (armed forces), officer of highest military ranks, high rank in the army, armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry.
In some usages the term "general officer" refers t ...
George S. Brown
George Scratchley Brown (17 August 1918 – 5 December 1978) was a United States Air Force general who served as the eighth chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In this capacity, he served as the senior military adviser to the president of th ...
paid a visit to Edwards and informed Aldrin that the USAF Aerospace Research Pilot School was being renamed the USAF Test Pilot School and the astronaut training was being dropped. With the Apollo program winding down, and Air Force budgets being cut, the Air Force's interest in space diminished. Aldrin elected to retire as a colonel on March 1, 1972, after 21 years of service. His father and General
Jimmy Doolittle
James Harold Doolittle (December 14, 1896 – September 27, 1993) was an American military general and aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor for his daring raid on Japan during World War II. He also made early coast-to-coast flights ...
, a close friend of his father, attended the formal retirement ceremony.
Post retirement
Aldrin's father died on December 28, 1974, from complications following a
heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...
. Aldrin's autobiographies ''Return to Earth,'' (1973) and ''
Magnificent Desolation'' (2009), recounted his struggles with
clinical depression
Major depressive disorder (MDD), also known as clinical depression, is a mental disorder characterized by at least two weeks of pervasive low mood, low self-esteem, and loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities. Introdu ...
and
alcoholism
Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
in the years after leaving NASA. Encouraged by a therapist to take a regular job, Aldrin worked selling used cars, at which he had no talent. Periods of hospitalization and sobriety alternated with bouts of heavy drinking. Eventually he was arrested for
disorderly conduct
Disorderly conduct is a crime in most jurisdictions in the United States, the People's Republic of China, and Taiwan. Typically, "disorderly conduct" makes it a crime to be drunk in public, to " disturb the peace", or to loiter in certain are ...
. Finally, in October 1978, he quit drinking for good. Aldrin attempted to help others with drinking problems, including actor
William Holden
William Holden (born William Franklin Beedle Jr.; April 17, 1918 – November 12, 1981) was an American actor, and one of the biggest box-office draws of the 1950s. Holden won the Academy Award for Best Actor for the film ''Stalag 17'' (1953) ...
. Holden's girlfriend
Stefanie Powers
Stefanie Powers (born November 2, 1942) is an American actress. She is best known for her role as Jennifer Hart on the mystery television series ''Hart to Hart'' (1979–1984), for which she received nominations for two Primetime Emmy Awards a ...
had portrayed Marianne, a woman with whom Aldrin had an affair, in the 1976
TV movie version of ''Return to Earth''. Aldrin was saddened by Holden's alcohol-related death in 1981.
Bart Sibrel incident
On September 9, 2002, Aldrin was lured to a
Beverly Hills
Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...
hotel on the pretext of being interviewed for a Japanese children's television show on the subject of space. When he arrived,
Moon landing conspiracy theorist Bart Sibrel
Bart Winfield Sibrel (born ) is an American conspiracy theorist who has written, produced, and directed works in support of the false belief that the Apollo Moon landings between 1969 and 1972 were staged by NASA under the control of the CIA ...
accosted him with a film crew and demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landings were not faked. After a brief confrontation, during which Sibrel followed Aldrin despite being told to leave him alone, and called him "a coward, a liar, and a thief" the 72-year-old Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was caught on camera by Sibrel's film crew. Aldrin said he had acted to defend himself and his stepdaughter. Witnesses said Sibrel had aggressively poked Aldrin with a Bible. Additional mitigating factors were that Sibrel sustained no visible injury and did not seek medical attention, and that Aldrin had no criminal record. The police declined to press charges against Aldrin.
Detached adapter panel sighting
In 2005, while being interviewed for a
Science Channel
Science Channel (often simply branded as Science; abbreviated to SCI) is an American pay television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The channel features programming focusing on science related to wilderness survival, engineering, manu ...
documentary titled ''First on the Moon: The Untold Story'', Aldrin told an interviewer they had seen an unidentified flying object (
UFO
An unidentified flying object (UFO), more recently renamed by US officials as a UAP (unidentified aerial phenomenon), is any perceived aerial phenomenon that cannot be immediately identified or explained. On investigation, most UFOs are id ...
). The documentary makers omitted the crew's conclusion that they probably saw one of the four detached spacecraft adapter panels from the upper stage of the SaturnV rocket. The panels had been jettisoned before the separation maneuver so they closely followed the spacecraft until the first mid-course correction. When Aldrin appeared on ''
The Howard Stern Show
''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The show has aired on Howard 100 a ...
'' on August 15, 2007, Stern asked him about the supposed UFO sighting. Aldrin confirmed that there was no such sighting of anything deemed extraterrestrial and said they were, and are, "99.9 percent" sure the object was the detached panel. According to Aldrin his words had been taken out of context. He made a request to the Science Channel to make a correction, but was refused.
Polar expedition
In December 2016, Aldrin was part of a tourist group visiting the
Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station
The Amundsen–Scott South Pole Station is the United States scientific research station at the South Pole of the Earth. It is the southernmost point under the jurisdiction (not sovereignty) of the United States. The station is located on the ...
in
Antarctica
Antarctica () is Earth's southernmost and least-populated continent. Situated almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle and surrounded by the Southern Ocean, it contains the geographic South Pole. Antarctica is the fifth-largest contine ...
when he fell ill and was evacuated, first to
McMurdo Station
McMurdo Station is a United States Antarctic research station on the south tip of Ross Island, which is in the New Zealand-claimed Ross Dependency on the shore of McMurdo Sound in Antarctica. It is operated by the United States through the Unit ...
and from there to
Christchurch
Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...
, New Zealand. At 86 years of age, Aldrin's visit made him the oldest person to reach the South Pole. He had traveled to the North Pole in 1998.
Mission to Mars advocacy
After leaving NASA, Aldrin continued to advocate for space exploration. In 1985 he joined the
University of North Dakota
The University of North Dakota (also known as UND or North Dakota) is a public research university in Grand Forks, North Dakota. It was established by the Dakota Territorial Assembly in 1883, six years before the establishment of the state of ...
(UND)'s
College of Aerospace Sciences at the invitation of John D. Odegard, the dean of the college. Aldrin helped to develop UND's Space Studies program and brought Dr.
David Webb from NASA to serve as the department's first chair. To further promote space exploration, and to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the first lunar landing, Aldrin teamed up with
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg and briefly Snoop Lion), is an American rapper. His fame dates back to 1992 when he featured on Dr. Dre's debut solo single, " ...
,
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
,
Talib Kweli
Talib Kweli Greene (; born October 3, 1975) is an American rapper. He earned recognition early on through his collaboration with fellow Brooklyn rapper Mos Def in 1997, when they formed the group Black Star. Kweli's musical career continued with ...
, and
Soulja Boy
DeAndre Cortez Way (born July 28, 1990), known professionally as Soulja Boy (formerly Soulja Boy Tell 'Em), is an American rapper and record producer. He rose to prominence, after his self published debut single "Crank That (Soulja Boy)" peake ...
to create the rap single and video "Rocket Experience", proceeds from which were donated to Aldrin's non-profit foundation,
ShareSpace. He is also a member of the
Mars Society
The Mars Society is a nonprofit organization that advocates for human Mars exploration and colonization, founded by Robert Zubrin in 1998. It is based on Zubrin's Mars Direct plan, which aims to make human mission to Mars as lightweight and fe ...
's Steering committee.
In 1985, Aldrin proposed a special spacecraft
trajectory
A trajectory or flight path is the path that an object with mass in motion follows through space as a function of time. In classical mechanics, a trajectory is defined by Hamiltonian mechanics via canonical coordinates; hence, a complete traj ...
now known as the
Aldrin cycler. Cycler trajectories offer reduced cost of repeated travel to Mars by using less propellant. The Aldrin cycler provided a five and a half month journey from the Earth to Mars, with a return trip to Earth of the same duration on a twin cycler orbit. Aldrin continues to research this concept with engineers from Purdue University. In 1996 Aldrin founded Starcraft Boosters, Inc. (SBI) to design reusable rocket launchers.
In December 2003, Aldrin published an opinion piece in ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' criticizing NASA's objectives. In it, he voiced concern about NASA's development of a
spacecraft
A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
"limited to transporting four astronauts at a time with little or no cargo carrying capability" and declared the goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon was "more like reaching for past glory than striving for new triumphs".
In a June 2013 opinion piece in ''The New York Times'', Aldrin supported a
human mission to Mars
The idea of sending humans to Mars has been the subject of aerospace engineering and scientific studies since the late 1940s as part of the broader exploration of Mars. Some have also considered exploring the Martian moons of Phobos and Deimos. ...
and which viewed the Moon "not as a destination but more a point of departure, one that places humankind on a trajectory to homestead Mars and become a two-planet species." In August 2015, Aldrin, in association with the
Florida Institute of Technology
The Florida Institute of Technology (Florida Tech or FIT) is a private research university in Melbourne, Florida. The university comprises four academic colleges: Engineering & Science, Aeronautics, Psychology & Liberal Arts, and Business. Appr ...
, presented a master plan to NASA for consideration where astronauts, with a tour of duty of ten years, establish a colony on Mars before the year 2040.
Awards and honors
Aldrin was awarded the
Air Force Distinguished Service Medal
The Air Force Distinguished Service Medal (AFDSM) is a military decoration of the United States Air Force and United States Space Force and is presented to airmen and guardians to recognize distinguished and exceptionally meritorious service to ...
(DSM) in 1969 for his role as lunar module pilot on Apollo 11.
He was awarded an
oak leaf cluster
An oak leaf cluster is a ribbon device to denote preceding decorations and awards consisting of a miniature bronze or silver twig of four oak leaves with three acorns on the stem. It is authorized by the United States Armed Forces for a speci ...
in 1972 in lieu of a second DSM for his role in both the Korean War and in the space program,
and the
Legion of Merit
The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievements. The decoration is issued to members of the eight ...
for his role in the Gemini and Apollo programs.
During a 1966 ceremony marking the end of the Gemini program, Aldrin was awarded the
NASA Exceptional Service Medal
The NASA Exceptional Service Medal is an award granted to U.S. government employees for significant sustained performance characterized by unusual initiative or creative ability that clearly demonstrates substantial improvement in engineering, ae ...
by
President Johnson at LBJ Ranch. He was awarded the
NASA Distinguished Service Medal
The NASA Distinguished Service Medal is the highest award that can be bestowed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration of the United States. The medal may be presented to any member of the federal government, including both milita ...
in 1970 for the Apollo11 mission. Aldrin was one of ten Gemini astronauts inducted into the
International Space Hall of Fame
The New Mexico Museum of Space History is a museum and planetarium complex in Alamogordo, New Mexico dedicated to artifacts and displays related to space flight and the Space Age. It includes the International Space Hall of Fame. The Museum of S ...
in 1982.
He was also inducted into the
U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame
The United States Astronaut Hall of Fame, located inside the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex Heroes & Legends building on Merritt Island, Florida, honors American astronauts and features the world's largest collection of their personal memora ...
in 1993, the
National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
in 2000, and the
New Jersey Hall of Fame
The New Jersey Hall of Fame is an organization that honors individuals from the U.S. state of New Jersey who have made contributions to society and the world beyond.
The Hall of Fame is a designated 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, overseen by ...
in 2008.
The ''
Toy Story
''Toy Story'' is a 1995 American computer-animated comedy film directed by John Lasseter (in his feature directorial debut), produced by Pixar Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. The first installment in the '' Toy Story ...
'' character
Buzz Lightyear
Buzz Lightyear is the main character in the ''Toy Story'' franchise created by Disney and Pixar mainly voiced by Tim Allen. He is a Superhero toy action figure based on the in-universe media franchise consisting of a blockbuster feature fi ...
was named in honor of Buzz Aldrin.
In 1999, while celebrating the 30th anniversary of the lunar landing, Vice President
Al Gore
Albert Arnold Gore Jr. (born March 31, 1948) is an American politician, businessman, and environmentalist who served as the 45th vice president of the United States from 1993 to 2001 under President Bill Clinton. Gore was the Democratic Part ...
, who was also the vice-chancellor of the Smithsonian Institution's Board of Regents, presented the Apollo11 crew with the
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums and education and research centers, the largest such complex in the world, created by the U.S. government "for the increase and diffusion of knowledge". Founded ...
's Langley Gold Medal for aviation. After the ceremony, the crew went to the White House and presented President Bill Clinton with an encased Moon rock. The Apollo11 crew was awarded the New Frontier Congressional Gold Medal in the Capitol Rotunda in 2011. During the ceremony, NASA administrator Charles Bolden said, "Those of us who have had the privilege to fly in space followed the trail they forged."
[''Congressional Gold Medal to Astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins''. . Accessed April 16, 2015.]
![Buzz Aldrin in 2001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Buzz_Aldrin_in_2001.jpg)
The Apollo11 crew were awarded the Collier Trophy in 1969. The National Aeronautic Association president awarded a duplicate trophy to Collins and Aldrin at a ceremony. The crew was awarded the 1969 General Thomas D. White USAF Space Trophy. The National Space Club named the crew the winners of the 1970 Dr. Robert H. Goddard Memorial Trophy, awarded annually for the greatest achievement in spaceflight. They received the international Harmon Trophy for aviators in 1970, conferred to them by Vice President Spiro Agnew in 1971. Agnew also presented them the Hubbard Medal of the National Geographic Society in 1970. He told them, "You've won a place alongside Christopher Columbus in American history". In 1970, the Apollo11 team were co-winners of the Iven C. Kincheloe award from the Society of Experimental Test Pilots along with Darryl Greenamyer who broke the world speed record for piston engine airplanes. For contributions to the television industry, they were honored with round plaques on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 2001, President George W. Bush appointed Aldrin to the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry. Aldrin received the 2003 Humanitarian Award from Variety, the Children's Charity, which, according to the organization, "is given to an individual who has shown unusual understanding, empathy, and devotion to mankind." In 2006, the Space Foundation awarded him its highest honor, the General James E. Hill Lifetime Space Achievement Award.
Aldrin received honorary degrees from six colleges and universities,
and was named as the Chancellor of the International Space University in 2015. He was a member of the National Space Society's Board of Governors, and has served as the organization's chairman. In 2016, his hometown middle school in Montclair, New Jersey, was renamed Buzz Aldrin Middle School. The Aldrin (crater), Aldrin crater on the Moon near the Apollo11 landing site and Asteroid 6470 Aldrin are named in his honor.
In 2019, Aldrin was awarded the Starmus Festival's Stephen Hawking Medal for Science Communication for Lifetime Achievement.
Personal life
![Buzz Aldrin and wife the late Lois Driggs 2 (48426304911)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/57/Buzz_Aldrin_and_wife_the_late_Lois_Driggs_2_%2848426304911%29.jpg)
Aldrin has been married three times. His first marriage was on December 29, 1954, to Joan Archer, a Rutgers University and Columbia University alumna with a master's degree. They had three children, James, Janice and Andrew. They filed for divorce in 1974. His second was to Beverly Van Zile, whom he married on December 31, 1975, and divorced in 1978. His third was to Lois Driggs Cannon, whom he married on February 14, 1988. Their divorce was finalized in December 2012. The settlement included 50percent of their $475,000 bank account, and $9,500 a month plus 30percent of his annual income, estimated at more than $600,000. he has one grandson, Jeffrey Schuss, born to his daughter Janice, and three great-grandsons and one great-granddaughter.
In 2018, Aldrin was involved in a legal dispute with his children Andrew and Janice and former business manager Christina Korp over their claims that he was mentally impaired through dementia and Alzheimer's disease. His children alleged that he made new friends who were alienating him from the family and encouraging him to spend his savings at a high rate. They sought to be named legal guardians so they could control his finances. In June, Aldrin filed a lawsuit against Andrew, Janice, Korp, and businesses and foundations run by the family. Aldrin alleged that Janice was not acting in his financial interests and that Korp was exploiting the elderly. He sought to remove Andrew's control of Aldrin's social media accounts, finances, and businesses. The situation ended when his children withdrew their petition and he dropped the lawsuit in March 2019, several months before the 50th anniversary of the Apollo11 mission.
![-Apollo50th (48356639337)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/70/-Apollo50th_%2848356639337%29.jpg)
Aldrin is an active supporter of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, headlining fundraisers for its members of United States Congress, Congress and endorsing its candidates. He appeared at a rally for George W. Bush in 2004 and campaigned for Paul Rancatore in Florida in 2008, Mead Treadwell in Alaska in 2014 and Dan Crenshaw in Texas in 2018. He appeared at the 2019 State of the Union Address as a guest of President Donald Trump, Trump.
Following the 2012 death of his Apollo11 colleague Neil Armstrong, Aldrin said he was
In 2007, Aldrin confirmed to ''Time (magazine), Time'' magazine that he had recently had a face-lift, joking that the g-forces he was exposed to in space "caused a sagging jowl that needed some attention."
He primarily resided in the Los Angeles area, including Beverly Hills and Laguna Beach, California, Laguna Beach and Emerald Bay, Orange County, California, Emerald Bay. Following his third divorce, he sold his Westwood, Los Angeles, Westwood condominium. He also lives in Satellite Beach, Florida.
In the media
Filmography
Portrayed by others
Aldrin has been portrayed by:
* Cliff Robertson in ''Return to Earth (film), Return to Earth'' (1976). Aldrin worked with Robertson on the role.
* Larry Williams in ''Apollo 13 (film), Apollo 13'' (1995)
* Xander Berkeley in ''Apollo 11 (1996 film), Apollo11'' (1996). He was also a technical advisor for the film.
* Bryan Cranston in ''From the Earth to the Moon (miniseries), From the Earth to the Moon'' (1998) and ''Magnificent Desolation: Walking on the Moon 3D'' (2005)
* James Marsters in ''Moonshot (2009 film), Moonshot'' (2009)
* Cory Tucker as a younger Buzz Aldrin of 1969 in ''Transformers: Dark of the Moon'' (2011)
* Corey Stoll in ''First Man (film), First Man'' (2018)
* Chris Agos in ''For All Mankind (TV series), For All Mankind'' (2019). 6 episodes.
* Felix Scott in ''The Crown (TV series), The Crown'' (2019)
Video games
* Aldrin was a consultant on the video game ''Buzz Aldrin's Race Into Space'' (1993).
Works
* Aldrin, Edwin E. Jr. 1970.
Footsteps on the Moon". ''Edison Electric Institute Bulletin''. Vol.38, No.7, pp.266–272.
* Armstrong, Neil; Michael Collins; Edwin E. Aldrin; Gene Farmer; and Dora Jane Hamblin. 1970. ''First on the Moon (1970 book), First on the Moon: A Voyage with Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr.'' Boston: Little, Brown. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Wayne Warga. 1973. ''Return to Earth''. New York: Random House. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Malcolm McConnell. 1989. ''Men from Earth''. New York: Bantam Books. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and John Barnes. 1996. ''Encounter with Tiber''. London: Hodder & Stoughton. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and John Barnes. 2000. ''The Return (Aldrin and Barnes novel), The Return''. New York: Forge. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Wendell Minor. 2005. ''Reaching for the Moon''. New York: HarperCollins Publishers. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Ken Abraham. 2009. ''Magnificent Desolation (book), Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon''. New York: Harmony Books. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Wendell Minor. 2009. ''Look to the Stars''. Camberwell, Vic.: Puffin Books. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Leonard David. 2013. ''Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration''. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Books. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Marianne Dyson. 2015. ''Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet''. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Children's Books. .
* Aldrin, Buzz and Ken Abraham. 2016. ''No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon''. Washington, D.C.: National Geographic Books. .
See also
* Apollo 11 in popular culture
* List of spaceflight records
* History of aviation
Notes
Citations
References
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External links
Interview with Buzz Aldrin for NOVA series: To the MoonWGBH Educational Foundation, raw footage, 1998
"Satellite of solitude"by Buzz Aldrin: an article in which Aldrin describes what it was like to walk on the Moon, ''Cosmos (Australian magazine), Cosmos'' science magazine, July 2005
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