The astronaut and more

The romantics who were gazing at the moon two centuries ago wouldnt have believed that in a hundred years time the man would set foot on the Moon. Still, the miracle happened and Buzz Aldrin was the second man to walk on the lunar surface. His professionalism, enthusiasm and sense of adventure made him one of the most famous astronauts of all times, though the man behind this name has more spectacular sides.

By far, his space missions are the ones which come first to our mind. Buzz was selected by NASA as one of the early astronauts and his orbital space rendezvous design earned him the nickname Dr. Rendezvous. Being part of the crew from Apollo 8, mans first flight around our satellite, he was afterwards the astronaut who, together with Neil Armstrong, conquered the Moon and set the American flag there.

Back on Earth, he embarked on an international good will tour and was awarded innumerable distinctions from countries all over the world. Nevertheless, the exhausting celebrity and glory was followed by a psychological breakdown and alcoholism, a consequence of the lack of communication after his retirement from NASA. After the recovery, his work consisted of designing everything from new launch vehicles to scenarios for returning to the Moon.

But Buzz Aldrin is more than just the well- known space pioneer. As a long time enthusiast of deep ocean exploration, he became member of the second expedition team to achieve a successful landing on Titanic. His tour aboard the Nautile to the wreckage engraved his name in the record books as the man with the most ups and downs(250 000 miles into space and 2.5 miles to the bed of the Atlantic). He also joined Hugh Downs on an expedition to the North Pole aboard a Russian Ice Breaker.

Inheriting the passion for heights from his father, having his first flight at the age of two, Buzz Aldrin graduated from the Military Academy and became a USAF pilot. During the Korean conflict, Buzz flew Sabre Jets in 66 combat missions and successfully shot down two MIG-15s.

Highlighting his dreams from childhood, his outer space experience and his futuristic visions he also wrote some memorable books, including memoires, tales and S.F. novels: Return to Earth, Man from Earth, Look to the Stars, The Return, Encounter with Tiber, Magnificent Isolation and Reaching to the Moon.

Accomplished astronaut, restless explorer, appreciated writer, founder of the SpaceShare Foundation and the list can go on. From his out-of-this-world achievements to ShareSpace Foundation to the Lunar Renaissance initiative to advising NASA on the best path forward, the Buzz doesnt stop there. A true visionary, he sees that our future in space can hold and encourages us to Reach for the stars literally by the development of long-term space exploration. The door to the space frontier was opened and we are all invited to dare and step into the other side of the line

He was born in Montclair, New Jersey on January 20 1930 to Edwin Aldrin and Marion Moon. His father was an aviation pioneer. In high school, football was his passion, but he gave up on when he went to academics. Buzz Aldrins real name is, in fact, Buzz Aldrin. He had it legally changed to Buzz in the early 80s from his given name Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. The name Buzz evolved from his sister Fay Anns mispronunciation of the word brother which became Buzzer. By fate, or by coincidence, his mothers name was Marion Moon. His name is engraved on Walk of Fame. As Buzz backed down the ladder of the Eagle Lander and first set foot onto the moon, he gazed at the lunar landscape and spontaneously remarked :Beautiful, beautiful. Magnificent desolation.

Buzz is in contact with many of the other astronauts and has had occasion to visit them during periodic Apollo reunions. He sees Neil when passing through Ohio and recently took a salmon fishing trip to Alaska with Mike Collins. Of the 24 astronauts that orbited the moon or landed on its surface, 18 are still living. To infinity and beyond! In fact Disney asked Buzz to give some space travel tips to Buzz Lightyear for his 2008 shuttle flight to the International Space Station to help celebrate NASAs 50th Anniversary. Aldrin willingly agreed, but of course reminded Lightyear who the real Buzz was! In a recent CNN interview with Miles OBrien, Buzz declared hed take the leap on a 4-day journey back to the moon. Hed like to check on how that American flag is holding up that he and Neil planted in 1969. As much as hed love to go to Mars, its a much longer duration mission. Hes had his space trips, and now is working so we can go too, and have the chance to be among those who walk on Mars. Dr. Aldrin actively supports Americas return to the moon and human missions to Mars to establish permanent settlements. He also advocates international cooperation and space tourism as essential elements to the future of exploration. He founded ShareSpace Foundation to advance opportunities for civilian space travel via a space lottery program.

www.buzzaldrin.com http://www.evz.ro/detalii/stiri/interviu-evz-drama-lui-buzz-aldrin-al-doilea-ompe-luna-866656.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buzz_Aldrin

Presentation made by Elena Nestian