Edwin Eugene Aldrin , known as Buzz Aldrin ( New Jersey , January 20 , 1930 ) is an American engineer, USAF pilot and retired astronaut. After Neil Armstrong , he was the second human to set foot on the Moon.
Biographical summary
Studies
After completing his primary education, he studied at the West Point Military Academy , from which he graduated with a degree in Science in 1951 , first in his class.
Career path
He subsequently joined the United States Armed Forces to complete his training as a pilot. As such, he was assigned in 1951 to the Korean War , where he flew in various combat missions, for which he received several decorations. Upon returning to the United States , he became an instructor of aerial artillery at Nellis Air Force Base , in Nevada , and was assistant to the dean of the faculty at the Air Force Academy in Alabama .
In October 1963 he was selected as an astronaut by NASA and was assigned first to the Gemini Target Office , at the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles , California , and later to the Manned Space Flight Center in Houston , Texas . In 1966 he was part of the reserve team for the Gemini IX mission , but his opportunity would come on November 11 of the same year, when he was launched into space, along with James Lovell , in the Gemini XII spacecraft . On this four-day flight, the record was set for the length of time a man spent in space outside the ship, as Aldrin spent five and a half hours on a spacewalk . This mission closed the Gemini program , after which the Apollo program began .
On July 16 , 1969 , a powerful Saturn rocket lifted off from Cape Kennedy with the Apollo 11 spacecraft carrying three astronauts: Neil Armstrong , Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins . The journey consisted of several stages. First, it would reach Earth orbit ; from there, the craft would move into lunar orbit , where the main craft (with Collins on board) would remain, and the lunar module Eagle , with Armstrong and Aldrin on board, would descend to the surface of the Moon .
The terms “landing” and “splashing” were then insufficient to describe man’s new achievement: landing on the moon . The Eagle gently descended to the lunar surface and Armstrong was the first to emerge, take a few historic steps and collect some samples of lunar rock . Aldrin soon followed, and between them they installed various scientific instruments, such as a seismograph and a solar wind meter . Over the course of two and a half hours they took various photographs and collected 22 kg of samples.
Once their mission was over, the astronauts carried out the risky manoeuvre of taking off with the Eagle to reach the command module, which was orbiting at an altitude of 100 km. Having achieved their goal, they abandoned the lunar module and began the return journey. Despite the use of retrorockets to reduce the fall, the ship entered the Earth’s atmosphere at a speed of 40,000 km/h, burning through the protective heat shield. It was July 24 , and the first trip to the Moon had ended satisfactorily. After a mandatory and foresighted quarantine, the astronauts were cheered by the crowd.