Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin

Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin is an American astronaut who was the second person to set foot on the Moon. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy, West Point, Aldrin became an air force pilot. He flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War and shot down two MiG-15 jets. In 1963 he earned a Ph.D. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Later that year he was chosen as an astronaut. Apollo 11, crewed by Aldrin, Neil A. Armstrong, and Michael Collins, was launched to the Moon on July 16, 1969. Four days later Armstrong and Aldrin landed near the edge of Mare Tranquillitatis. After spending about two hours gathering rock samples, taking photographs, and setting up scientific equipment for tests, they concluded their lunar surface excursion. Aldrin and Armstrong later piloted the lunar module Eagle to a successful rendezvous with Collins and the command module in lunar orbit. The mission ended on July 24 with splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Aldrin retired from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1971 to become commandant of the Aerospace Research Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base in California. In 1988 he legally changed his name to Buzz Aldrin. In 1998 he founded the ShareSpace Foundation, a nonprofit organization to promote the expansion of crewed space exploration.