What was it like to walk on the moon?

Upon stepping foot on the moon, Buzz remarked to Houston, "Beautiful, beautiful. Magnificent desolation."

Read the full text of Buzz' thoughts and recollections, in his own words, of his walk on the moon.

What is Buzz Aldrin's real name?

Buzz Aldrin's real name is, in fact, Buzz Aldrin. He had it legally changed to Buzz in the early 80's from his given name Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. The name Buzz evolved from his sister Fay Ann's mispronunciation of the word 'brother', which became 'Buzzer'. By fate, or by coincidence, his mothers' name was Marion Moon.

Who is the astronaut in the famous 'visor' shot?

The iconic image is of Buzz, taken by Neil Armstrong during their historic moonwalk on July 20, 1969. One of Neil's tasks was to document the moonwalk, so the vast majority of the first lunar landing photos are of Buzz. The unique feature of the 'visor' photo is that you can see the reflection of the Eagle Lander and of Neil snapping the shot in the visor of Buzz' helmet.

Does Buzz still see the other lunar astronauts?

Buzz is in contact with many of the other astronauts and has had occasion to visit with them during periodic Apollo reunions. He sees Neil when passing through Ohio and recently took a salmon fishing trip to Alaska with Michael Collins. Of the 24 astronauts that reached the moon, 18 are still living.

Where can I find a moon rock?

None of the lunar astronauts were allowed to keep any samples, unfortunately. Even Buzz doesn't have one. However, you can find three on display at the American Museum of Natural History in New York, as well as at the Smithsonian in Washington D.C., where you can actually touch them.

What has Buzz been doing since the moon landing?

Designing rockets, deep sea exploring, speaking all over the world for privatizing space. At 73, Buzz is as active today as when he walked on the moon. He has written four books and numerous articles advocating concepts for the future of space travel. His expertise is tapped by filmmakers as a technical consultant and he has appeared frequently on television as a commentator.

In 2002, he served as a presidential appointee on the Commission on the Future of the US Aerospace Industry, and in 2003 he was honored among the top contributors to flight at the Kitty Hawk First Flight Centennial celebration.

What is Buzz' vision for the future of human space exploration?

Dr. Aldrin actively supports space tourism and the integrated development of privatized space travel along with NASA's scientific and exploratory missions. He founded ShareSpace in 1998 to develop programs directed toward making space travel more affordable for all. He is also the founder of Starcraft Boosters Inc., a rocket design company that has developed the Starbird series of cost-effective reusable rockets. He has received critical acclaim from engineers at JPL and NASA for his Mars Cycler design of a spacecraft system that uses gravitational-assisted trajectories of cycling orbits between Earth and Mars.

Dr. Aldrin ultimately sees America returning to the moon and an eventual colonization of Mars.

Click here to read more about Buzz' vision for the future of human space exploration.

What are Buzz' thoughts on the Columbia Shuttle tragedy?

Buzz was as devastated as all of us. He wrote about his feelings in the
New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and the San Francisco Examiner

I've heard that the MTV Video Music Award statuette is named after Buzz. Is this true?

Yes, the VMA "Moonman" award has been alternately referred to as the "Buzzy" and images of Buzz on the moon were used for MTV's original station identification. In fact, the network aired "20 Things You Didn't Know About the VMA's" as part of the 20th Anniversary of their awards show, featuring Buzz as the inspiration for the "Moonman" statuette. MTV President Tom Freston is a personal fan of Buzz's, and recently presented him with the statuette inscribed "To the original Moonman."

Does Buzz ever want to travel back into space? Does he still pilot airplanes?

While Buzz has officially retired from space flight, his passion is working toward making space travel more readily available to the public.
 
As for flying, Buzz did have occasion recently to fly an F-16 with his former 22nd Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base in Germany. Dr. Aldrin was the D-Flight commander in the "Big 22" while stationed in Bitburg Air Base from 1956 to 1959 where he flew F-100's.