Buzz Aldrin, American Astronaut
Buzz Aldrin (born January 20, 1930) is an American engineer, former astronaut and fighter pilot. Aldrin graduated from West Point in 1951, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned into the USAF, and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and shot down two MiG-15 aircraft. After earning a Sc.D. degree in astronautics from MIT Aldrin was selected as a member of NASA's Astronaut Group 3, making him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. His first space flight was in 1966 on Gemini 12 during which he spent over five hours on extravehicular activity. During the Apollo 11 mission Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC), nine minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface. A Presbyterian elder, Aldrin became the first person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon when he privately took communion. Upon leaving NASA in 1971, he became Commandant of the USAF Test Pilot School. He retired from the Air Force in 1972, after 21 years of service. He continued to advocate for space exploration, particularly a human mission to Mars, and developed the Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars possible using less time and propellant. He has been accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969
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