Buzz Aldrin

Aldrin was born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. He earned a BSc in Mechanical Engineering from the military academy West Point in 1951. After postgraduate studies, he received a ScD in Aeronautics and Astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1963.From his earlier activity as a fighter pilot in the Korean War he won several medals, including the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal.

Aldrin was the second person in history to set foot on the Moon (after Neil Armstrong, during the Apollo 11 mission).

The Lunar Lander Module landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969.^[1]

He was 39 when he set foot on the moon.

As a Presbyterian elder, Aldrin was the first and only person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon.^[2] Using a kit given to him by his pastor, he took communion during his moon mission.^[3]

He received the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the NASA Exceptional Service Medal. After the death of Michael Collins in 2021, Aldrin became the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew.

Aldrin left NASA in March 1972. He has been married four times: to Joan Archer, to Beverly Zile, to Lois Driggs Cannon, and to Anca V Faur.^[4] He had three children with Joan, named James, Janice, and Andrew. He married Cannon on Valentine's Day, 1988. He is the oldest contestant on the television series Dancing with the Stars. He competed in 2010.