Buzz Aldrin

Buzz Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. on January 20, 1930) is an American former astronaut, engineer, fighter pilot, and author whose career has spanned more than seven decades. Raised in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, he excelled academically and athletically, graduating third in his class at the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1951 with a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering. After commissioning into the U.S. Air Force he flew combat missions in the Korean War, tallying 66 sorties and shooting down two MiG‑15s, earning two Distinguished Flying Crosses and three Air Medals. He later earned a Sc.D. in astronautics from MIT, becoming the first astronaut with a doctoral degree and earning the nickname “Dr. Rendezvous” for his expertise in orbital mechanics. Aldrin’s first spaceflight came on Gemini 12 (1966), where he performed three spacewalks and demonstrated that extravehicular activity could be done safely, paving the way for the Apollo program.

Three years later, as Lunar Module pilot on Apollo 11, Aldrin became the second person to walk on the Moon, famously describing the surface as a “magnificent desolation.” While on the Moon he performed the first religious ceremony in humanity’s history, taking communion as a Presbyterian elder. After leaving NASA in 1971 he served as commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, retired from the Air Force in 1972, and pursued a prolific public‑speaking and advocacy career. He authored numerous books, championed a human mission to Mars, and contributed to the development of the Aldrin cycler trajectory. His honors include the Presidential Medal of Freedom, two Air Force Distinguished Service Medals, and induction into both the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame and the International Space Hall of Fame.