Background

Born Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. on January 20, 1930, in Montclair, New Jersey. The nickname "Buzz" originated in childhood: his little sister mispronounced the word "brother" as "buzzer." His family shortened the nickname to "Buzz." Aldrin would make it his legal first name in 1988.

Buzz Aldrin's father, a colonel in the United States Air Force, was the one who originally encouraged his interest in flight. His mother, Marion Moon, was the daughter of an Army chaplain. Aldrin had two sisters, Madeleine and Fay Ann.

Buzz Aldrin was a Boy Scout, achieving the rank of Tenderfoot Scout.

Education

In 1947, Buzz graduated from Montclair High School in Montclair, New Jersey, and headed to West Point Military Academy in New York. He took well to the discipline and strict regimens and was the first in his class his freshman year. He took well to the discipline and strict regimens and was the first in his class his freshman year. He graduated third in his class in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering.

In 1963 Aldrin wrote a dissertation on orbital mechanics to earn a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge. His thesis subject "Line-of-sight guidance techniques for manned orbital rendezvous" was the study of bringing piloted spacecraft into close proximity with each other.

Career

Aldrin's father felt his son should continue on to multi-engine flight school so that he could eventually take charge of his own flight crew, but Aldrin wanted to become a fighter pilot. His father relented to his son's wishes, and after a summer of hitching around Europe on military planes, Aldrin officially entered the United States Air Force in 1951. He again scored near the top of his class in flight school and began fighter training later that year.

During his time in the military, Aldrin joined the 51st Fighter Wing, where he flew F-86 Sabre Jets in 66 combat missions in Korea. During the Korean War, F-86 planes fought to defend South Korea from the invasion of Communist forces in North Korea. Aldrin's wing was responsible for breaking the enemy "kills" record during combat, when they shot down 61 enemy MIGs and grounded 57 others in one month of combat. Aldrin shot down two MIG-15s, and was decorated with the Distinguished Flying Cross for his service during the war.

After a ceasefire was declared between North and South Korea in 1953, Aldrin returned home. He pursued higher education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he planned to complete a master's degree and then apply for test pilot school. Instead, he earned a Ph.D. in aeronautics and astronautics, graduating in 1963.

His specialized study of rendezvous helped to earn him entry into the space program shortly after graduation. In 1963, Aldrin was part of the third group of men selected by NASA to attempt to pioneer space flight. He was the first astronaut with a doctorate and because of his expertise he earned the nickname "Dr. Rendezvous." Aldrin was put in charge of creating docking and rendezvous techniques for spacecraft. He also pioneered underwater training techniques to simulate spacewalking.

In 1966, Aldrin and astronaut Jim Lovell were assigned to the Gemini 12 crew. During their November 11 to November 15, 1966, space flight, Aldrin made a five-hour spacewalk - the longest and most successful spacewalk ever completed at that time. He also used his rendezvous abilities to manually recalculate all the docking maneuvers on the flight, after the on-board radar failed. He also took a photograph of himself, which would later be called the first "selfie" in space, on that mission.

After Gemini 12, Aldrin was assigned to the back-up crew of Apollo 8 along with Neil Armstrong and Harrison "Jack" Schmitt. For the historic Apollo 11 lunar landing mission, Aldrin served as the lunar module pilot. On July 20, 1969, he made history as the second man to walk on the moon, following mission commander Armstrong, who took the first step on the lunar surface. They spent a total of 21 hours during the moonwalk and returned with 46 pounds of moon rocks. The walk, which was televised, drew an estimated 600 million people to watch, becoming the world's largest television audience in history.

In March 1972, after 21 years of service, Aldrin retired from active duty and returned to the Air Force in a managerial role. He later revealed in his 1973 autobiography, Return to Earth, that he battled depression and alcoholism following his years with NASA, leading to a divorce.

After rediscovering sobriety, Aldrin turned to study advancements in space technology. He devised a spacecraft system for missions to Mars known as the "Aldrin Mars Cycler," and received three United States patents for his schematics of a modular space station, Starbooster reusable rockets, and multi-crew modules.

He also founded ShareSpace Foundation, a nonprofit organization devoted to advancing space education, exploration, and affordable space flight experiences. In 2014, he revamped the nonprofit to focus on STEAM Education (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Math) to inspire children from kindergarten through 8th grade to learn about space.

In August 2015, he launched the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute at Florida Tech "to promote and develop his vision of a permanent human settlement on the planet Mars," according to his official website.

Aldrin also continued to give lectures and make television appearances, including competing on Dancing with the Stars in 2010, where he showed the world that a senior astronaut still had some impressive moves. He also made guest appearances on The Simpsons, 30 Rock and The Big Bang Theory, and had a cameo in the movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011).

Additionally, the iconic astronaut collaborated with hip-hop artists Snoop Dogg and Talib Kweli to create the song "Rocket Experience" to promote space exploration to young people. Proceeds from the sale of the song and video, which features music producer Quincy Jones and rapper Soulja Boy, benefit ShareSpace.

In November 2016, Aldrin was on a tourist trip to Antarctica when he had to be medically evacuated to be treated at a hospital in New Zealand. A statement on his website said he was in stable condition with "fluid in his lungs," but in good spirits and responding well to antibiotics.

In April 2018, the United Kingdom's Daily Star reported that Aldrin had submitted to an advanced technology lie detector test, which determined he was telling the truth when recalling how he saw a possible UFO during the famed Apollo 11 trip in 1969. Stories of Aldrin's supposed encounter had served as a touchstone for alien truthers for years, but the man himself squashed the rumors through his spokesperson, calling them "fabrication for the sake of headlines."

In his later career, Aldrin became a prolific author. He wrote two autobiographies, Return to Earth (1973), which told the story of his experience with depression following the Apollo 11 mission, and Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon (2009, with Ken Abraham). He also wrote a history of the Apollo program, Men from Earth (1989, with Malcolm McConnell); two children’s books, Reaching for the Moon (2005) and Look to the Stars (2009); and two forward-looking works, Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration (2013) and No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon (2016).

Achievements

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  Overall, between both the Gemini and Apollo NASA programs, Aldrin spent 289 hours and 53 minutes outside in space.
  
  The Toy Story character Buzz Lightyear was named in honor of Buzz Aldrin.
  
  Upon their safe return to Earth, Aldrin was decorated with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, followed by a 45-day international goodwill tour. Other honors include having Asteroid 6470 Aldrin and the Aldrin Crater on the moon named after him. Aldrin and his Apollo 11 crewmates Armstrong and Michael Collins also received the Congressional Gold Medal in 2011, and the Apollo 11 crew were honored with four stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in California.
  
  

Works

More photos

• book

  • No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons From a Man Who Walked on the Moon

    (Beloved American hero and astronaut Buzz Aldrin reflects ...)

    2016
  • Men from Earth

    (On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin and Ne...)

    1989
  • Return to Earth

    (Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin’s courageous, candid memo...)

    1973
  • Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon

    (Forty years ago, Buzz Aldrin became the second human, min...)

    2009
  • The Return

    (On July 20, 1969, Buzz Aldrin, along with crewmate Neil A...)

    2000
  • Reaching for the Moon

    (Perfect for the 50th anniversary of the Moon landing in s...)

  • Encounter with Tiber

    (Born the year of the Moon landing, Chris Terence spends h...)

    1996
  • Mission to Mars: My Vision for Space Exploration

    (Can astronauts reach Mars by 2035? Absolutely, says Buzz ...)

    2013
  • Welcome to Mars: Making a Home on the Red Planet

    (Space is still the final frontier and Mars continues to m...)

    2015
  • Look to the Stars

    (Buzz Aldrin takes readers on a journey through the histor...)

    2009
  • First on the Moon: A Voyage With Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr.

    (The Apollo 11 astronauts describe their unparalleled spac...)

    1970

• movie

  • Transformers: Dark of the Moon

    (The Autobots learn of a Cybertronian spacecraft hidden on...)

    2011
  • The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

    (The girl next door makes a teen (John Travolta) born with...)

    1976
  • Fly Me to the Moon

    (Three ordinary houseflies stow away on Apollo 11 for its ...)

    2008
  • In the Shadow of the Moon

    (Between 1968 and 1972, the world watched in awe as Americ...)

    2007

• TV series

  • Numb3rs

    (FBI agent Don Eppes recruits his mathematical genius brot...)

    2006
  • The Big Bang Theory

    (The Big Bang geniuses return after being thrown for a bel...)

    2012

• Video game

  • Mass Effect 3

    (Earth is burning. Striking from beyond known space, a rac...)

Religion

Aldrin, a Presbyterian, was the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon. After landing 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." He took communion on the surface of the Moon, but he kept it secret because of a lawsuit brought by atheist activist Madalyn Murray O'Hair over the reading of Genesis on Apollo 8. Aldrin, then a church elder, used a home communion kit given to him, and recited words used by his pastor at Webster Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Dean Woodruff. The communion elements were the first food and liquid consumed on the Moon: in Guideposts, Aldrin stated: "It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements."

However, years later, Aldrin said that if he were to do it over again, he would think twice about performing the religious act, stating that the moon mission was for everyone on Earth, regardless of religion.

Politics

Aldrin is an active supporter of the Republican Party.

Views

Buzz Aldrin often speaks out in support of space exploration. In his most recent book ‘Mission to Mars’, he calls for a future American President to make a commitment to establish a permanent human presence on Mars. The timing would come 50 years after Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans to step foot on the Moon on July 21, 1969.

"I see the larger advances in humanity here on planet earth will come when decisions are made to move earthlings from one planet where we’ve evolved for thousands and thousands of years, to the enormously historic beginning of a settlement and the colonization of another planet," he emphasizes. "It is a big objective, but I would like to see the United States make a commitment within a definite time period of leading the other nations in international permanence on Mars."

As an unstinting advocate for private space travel, Aldrin is keen to see future progress. He believes this type of travel will bring down the cost of single scientific missions through creating large sustainable markets and generate broad public interest and participation. The idea that tourists in space will nurture the next generation of astronauts, engineers, and scientists, is one he believes strongly in. "Commercial passenger travel drives the requirements for reusable Earth to orbit transportation systems. Not only that but I believe public space travel by private citizens or non-professionals is critical as it makes space more familiar."

Buzz Aldrin’s 'Mars Cycler' was an idea from the 1980s that remains close to his heart. A spacecraft system with perpetual cycling orbits between Earth and Mars creating a space transportation network. "I came up with the idea in 1985 as a system that provided a transportation orbital strategy," he excitedly exalts. "It would lead to a sustainable transportation system that could ferry people, supplies and equipment to Mars, utilizing a host spacecraft on a trajectory travelling between the two planets. I’m pretty confident we’re moving in the right direction, I just need to gather increased support for these lofty objectives."

Quotations: "There's a need for accepting responsibility - for a person's life and making choices that are not just ones for immediate short-term comfort. You need to make an investment, and the investment is in health and education."

"Mars is there, waiting to be reached."

"There is no place on Earth as desolate as what I was viewing in those first moments on the lunar surface…What I was looking at, towards the horizon and in every direction, had not changed in hundreds, thousands of years…Beyond me, I could see the moon curving away - no atmosphere, black sky. Cold. Colder than anyone could experience on Earth when the sun is up."

"Fear paralyzes in many ways, but especially if it keeps you from responding wisely and intelligently to challenges. The only way to overcome your fears is to face them head-on."

"Choose your heroes wisely, and be careful who you idolize. Why? Simple: you will become like the people with whom you most often associate."

Membership

With membership in lodges in both New Jersey and Texas, Aldrin is an active Freemason. According to Universal Co-Masonry, he wanted to attach masonic significance to the moon landing and carry the banner of masonry to the stars. To that end, he received a special dispensation from The Grand Lodge of Texas to act as a special deputy on the Moon. It is unknown if he performed any masonic rituals there.

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  Freemasonry

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  ShareSpace Foundation

Personality

Aldrin was one of the few celebrities of that time period who publicly acknowledged that he was a recovering alcoholic. He later chaired the National Association of Mental Health and made appearances across the country discussing his battle with depression. He also appeared at a news conference sponsored by the National Council on Alcoholism and openly discussed how his alcoholism and depression were intertwined.

Just before the Apollo 11 mission, because of the lack of a plan for their families should something happen on the mission, Aldrin, Armstrong, and Collins came up with a plan. While they were in pre-launch quarantine, they took matters into their own hands and decided to sign hundreds of autographs, which they then sent to a friend who would be responsible for distributing the memorabilia to their families in the case of tragedy.

Buzz Aldrin’s favorite space food was a dehydrated shrimp cocktail. As Aldrin wrote, "We had very small shrimp that had a little bit of cocktail sauce, and when exposed to water, were very very tasty."

Aldrin does not take kindly to companies using his image for commercial purposes. He has sued Omega watches, the brand he wore during the moon landing, for using his image without permission, as well as Topps trading cards for selling Buzz Aldrin trading cards. After the release of Toy Story, Aldrin admitted to considering suing Disney, but eventually decided against it.

On September 9, 2002, Aldrin was lured to a Beverly Hills hotel on the pretext of being interviewed for a Japanese children's television show on the subject of space. When he arrived, Apollo conspiracy proponent Bart Sibrel accosted him with a film crew and demanded he swear on a Bible that the Moon landings were not faked, insisting that Aldrin and others had lied about walking on the Moon. After a brief confrontation, in which Sibrel called him "a coward and a liar," Aldrin punched Sibrel in the jaw, which was caught on camera by Sibrel's film crew. The police determined that Aldrin was provoked and no charges were filed. Aldrin dedicates a chapter to this incident in his autobiography Magnificent Desolation.

Physical Characteristics: In 2007, at age 77, he underwent plastic surgery for a face-lift. Claims that being subjected to countless bouts of G-force as a fighter pilot and astronaut caused his jowls to sag prematurely.

Quotes from others about the person

• "A humble man, Buzz neither insisted on taking the first step on the moon nor did he try to seize the limelight for the supreme scientific and technological accomplishment of lunar exploration. His scientific curiosity, persistence, moderation, and humility being virtues every freemason should embody, he is an exemplar of the craft, and the virtues and qualities it instills and expects in a Brother." - Universal Co-Masonry

Interests

• Scuba diving

• Politicians

  George W. Bush, Nick Lampson, Paul Rancatore , Mark Treadwell, Dan Crenshaw

• Music & Bands

  Glen Campbell, Barbra Streisand, John Stewart

Connections

Aldrin has been married three times. He and his first wife, actress Joan Archer, had three children together - James, Janice, and Andrew. His second wife was Beverly Zile. He married his third wife, Lois Driggs Cannon, on Valentine's Day in 1988. They divorced in 2012.

Father:

Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr.

Mother:

Marion Moon

ex-wife:

Joan Archer

Sister:

Madeleine Aldrin

Sister:

Fay Ann Aldrin

ex-wife:

Beverly Zile

ex-wife:

Lois Driggs Cannon

Son:

James Aldrin

Daughter:

Janice Aldrin

Son:

Andrew Aldrin

colleague:

Jim Lovell

Jim Lovell is an American astronaut who took part in the Gemini and Apollo space programs and was a commander of the nearly disastrous Apollo 13 flight to the Moon in 1970.

colleague:

Neil A. Armstrong

Astronaut, military pilot and educator, Neil Armstrong made history on July 20, 1969, by becoming the first man to walk on the moon.

colleague:

Michael Collins

Michael Collins is a former astronaut who was part of the Gemini 10 and Apollo 11 missions, the latter of which included the first lunar landing in history.

Acquaintance:

Donald Trump

References

• Buzz Aldrin Astronaut