Buzz Aldrin, ScD. Col. Ret. USAF. Gemini XII and Apollo XI AstronautA West Point graduate (third in his class) and decorated Korean War fighter pilot, Buzz Aldrin was chosen for NASA’s astronaut corps in 1963 after earning his Doctorate of Science from MIT with a thesis on Orbital Rendezvous. He set a record 5 ½ hour spacewalk when he flew the last Gemini mission with Jim Lovell. On July 20, 1969 Buzz Aldrin and Neil Armstrong were the first two human beings to set foot on the Moon during the Apollo XI first landing as the world’s largest television viewing audience watched this unprecedented endeavor.
Aldrin has authored six books, including a historical space documentary, two space novels, and his current best-selling illustrated children’s book, Reaching for the Moon. He continues to explore the Earth, with expeditions to the North Pole on a Russian Icebreaker, and to the Titanic in a French submersible. Buzz and Lois Driggs Aldrin (his wife and business partner of 20 years) enjoy traveling the world for speaking appearances, as well as winter skiing and ocean scuba diving.
