We all know Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon in 1969 as part of the Apollo 11 mission. However, we don’t know much about Buzz Aldrin, the second person to set foot on the Moon right after him. Let’s get to know Buzz Aldrin, who also inspired the Pixar character Buzz Light Year.
Neil Armstrong, ‘One small step for me, one giant leap for humanity.’ He became the first person to set foot on the Moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. But inside the spacecraft were two other crew members with him; Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. Michael Collins remained in the vehicle to maintain control, but Buzz Aldrin became the second man to set foot on the Moon, right after Armstrong.
Unfortunately this is always the case, the latter are not remembered. However, while there are a handful of people who set foot on the Moon already, it is impossible not to know the second of them, Buzz Aldrin. A master fighter pilot, Aldrin continued to contribute to space exploration after he served at NASA and set foot on the Moon. Who is Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon? Let’s take a closer look at it.
A pilot who served in the Korean War:
His full name is Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. Buzz Aldrin was born on January 20, 1930 in Montclair, New Jersey, United States. Found in 1951 in West Point, New York He graduated from the United States Military Academy. Immediately after his graduation, he started to serve as a pilot in the Air Force.
Buzz Aldrin, who lived between 1950 – 1953 and caused the country to be governed as two separate states as North and South today. in the Korean War He was sent to Korea to serve in the 51st Hunter Wing in Seoul. During the war, he participated in a total of 66 battles using the North American F-86 Saber and shot down two MiG-15 aircraft.
After the Korean War, Buzz Aldrin was ruled by two different states, East and West at that time. He was sent to Germany to serve. During his tenure in West Germany, his interest in space began to increase. His work on spacecraft paved the way for him to NASA.
Buzz Aldrin being accepted into NASA:
Buzz Aldrin, who accelerated space exploration while serving in West Germany, wrote a thesis to earn his doctorate. The subject of his doctoral thesis he wrote in 1963 was on orbital mechanics. Thanks to this thesis he wrote at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. In the same year, he was selected as an astronaut by NASA, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Buzz Aldrin didn’t go directly to the Moon. In any case, the crew of Apollo 11 must have been on at least one space mission before. Aldrin on November 11, 1966 He went into space as part of the Gemini 12 mission. Buzz Aldrin, who spent 4 days in space, made three spacewalks during this period. Now he was ready to go to the Moon.
Apollo 11 goes to the Moon:
On July 16, 1969, Commander in Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States Neil A. Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. the one which The Apollo 11 vehicle set out to go to the Moon. This flight is the first manned space mission to the lunar surface.
Neil Armstrong was the first man to set foot on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Buzz Aldrin became the second man to set foot on the Moon. The duo spent 2 hours collecting rock samples, conducting tests and taking photos on the Moon’s surface. With the successful piloting of Michael Collins, the Apollo 11 vehicle and its crew landed safely in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.
Aldrin is officially named Buzz Aldrin:
Retiring from NASA in 1971, shortly after returning to Earth, Aldrin began serving as a commander at the Aeronautics and Space Research Pilot School. Aldrin, who retired from here in 1972, Buzz, his lifelong nickname In 1988 he officially became Buzz Aldrin, adding to his name.
Buzz Aldrin released the titles Return to Earth in 1973 and Magnificent Desolation: The Long Journey Home from the Moon in 2009. He wrote two autobiographical novels, describing his journey to the Moon. Aldrin, who has also written a few more works, including children’s books, founded the ShareSpace Foundation, a non-profit foundation, in 1998 to promote the expansion of space studies. He is currently enjoying retirement.
Pixar character Buzz Lightyear:
Legendary animated series by Disney Pixar Name of one of the main characters in Toy Story Buzz Lightyear So Buzz is the Light Year. Pixar paid homage to a fictional space hero by naming a real space hero, Buzz Aldrin.
Right after Neil Armstrong on the Apollo 11 mission Who is Buzz Aldrin, the second man to set foot on the moon? We answered the question and told the story of this important hero of our space history. It’s always hard to be second, even if you go into space and set foot on the Moon.