Buzz Aldrin is one of the first people to walk on the moon. His birth name was Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. Buzz was his nickname, but later in 1988 he legally changed his first name to Buzz Aldrin. He was born on January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey.
His father was a colonel in the U.S. Air Force and also an oil executive. He graduated from Montclair High School, New Jersey. During his time in military, Aldrin joined the 51st Fighter Wing, where he flew F-86 Sabre Jets in 66 combat missions in Korea.
Quick Facts: –
- He earned a doctorate in Astronautics from MIT, joined NASA in 1963. In 1966, he participated in the Gemini XII Mission.
- During this mission, he set a new record for extravehicular activity in space by working outside of a spacecraft for two hours and six minutes.
- He was a part of the historic Apollo 11 mission with Neil Armstrong in 1969. He became the second person to walk on the moon after Armstrong.
- Buzz Aldrin was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Richard Nixon.
- He retired from NASA in 1971 and from Air Force as a colonel in March 19712.
- Aldrin served from 1971 to 1972 as Commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilots School, Edwards Air Force Base.
- In 1993, he patented his design for a permanent space station.
- He logged 289 hours and 53 minutes in space between the Gemini and Apollo programs.
- His first words after landing on the moon were ‘Beautiful View, Magnificent Desolation’.
