Edwin Eugene "Buzz" Aldrin, Jr. (born January 20, 1930) is an American astronaut who was the second man on the Moon with the Apollo 11 mission.

He was born in Montclair, New Jersey.

A West Point graduate, Aldrin flew 66 combat missions in the Korean War before going to MIT, where he earned a doctorate in astronautics. He was selected as an astronaut in 1963; on the Gemini 12 orbital mission, he set a record for extra-vehicular activity. He is most famous for walking on the moon. His autobiography Return to Earth provides an account of his struggles with depression and alcoholism in the years following his NASA career.

Aldrin has had a much more public persona than Neil Armstrong, and it is said that originally it was he who would be first out onto the surface... however this did not happen. Buzz is well known for having a mystical side, being a Freemason, and for having made statements about God -- in contrast to Yuri Gagarin, who was always avowedly atheist.

Since retiring from NASA, he has continued to promote space exploration, including producing a unique computer strategy game called "Race into Space" (1992).

Aldrin also teamed up with science fiction author John Barnes to write Encounter With Tiber and The Return.

In 2002, President Bush appointed Aldrin to the Presidential Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry [1] http://www.buzzaldrin.com/space/reports/ .

In September, 2002, Bart Sibrel's repeated demands (over several years) that astronaut Aldrin swear an oath on the Bible that he had walked on the Moon, or admit that it was all a hoax, came to a head. Aldrin had repeatedly refused to take this oath, and Sibrel's tactics with Aldrin and several other Apollo astronauts have been confrontational. Sibrel often gained access to the astronauts by claiming to represent organizations that he does not and not identifying himself correctly. When he approached Aldrin in September 2002, he cornered Aldrin and a young female relative. Aldrin punched Sibrel, claiming that he felt forced to defend himself and his companion. Although the Beverly Hills police investigated the incident, charges were later dropped.

A small crater on the Moon near the Apollo 11 landing site is named in his honor.

He also has a TV star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Hollywood and Vine.

External link

• Official website http://www.buzzaldrin.com/