Buzz Aldrin

thumb|Buzz Aldrin in 1969 Buzz Eugene Aldrin (born Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr. on January 20, 1930) is an American pilot and astronaut who became the second man to set foot on the Moon (after Neil Armstrong) during the Apollo 11 mission, the first manned lunar landing. Quotes "Magnificent desolation." —Words said when he first stepped onto the Moon; Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham, Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon (2009, Random House): p. 33-34. "Don't waste the Earth — it is our Jewel!" —2012 quote from interview video at 1:28, "But failure is not a sign of weakness. It is a sign that you are alive and growing." "A busy eleven minutes later we were in Earth orbit. The Earth didn't look much different from the way it had during my first flight, and yet I kept looking at it. From space it has an almost benign quality. Intellectually one could realize there were wars underway, but emotionally it was impossible to understand such things. The thought reoccurred that wars are generally fought for territory or are disputes over borders; from space the arbitrary borders established on Earth cannot be seen." —Apollo Expeditions to the Moon (1975) Quotes about Aldrin A son of the proud city of Montclair, New Jersey, Buzz made his mark in the Annals of West Point by standing first in plebe year in academics and in physical education. The proximity of his home town enabled him to escort frequently, proficiently, and with great variety. As evidenced by his fine record at the Academy, Buzz should make a capable, dependable, and efficient officer in the U.S. Air Force. Description of Aldrin in The Howitzer (1951), p. 98. Neil Armstrong was American like Aldrin , I think..... External links Category:Astronauts from the United States Category:1930 births Category:Living people Category:People from New Jersey Category:Engineers from the United States Category:Autobiographers from the United States Category:Presbyterians from the United States Category:Aviators Category:Massachusetts Institute of Technology alumni Category:Presidential Medal of Freedom recipients Category:NASA People