Buzz Aldrin

Astronaut Buzz Aldrin was born January 20th, 1930, in Montclair, New Jersey. He received a bachelor of science degree from West Point Military Academy in 1951, where he graduated third in his class. He also earned a doctorate of science in Astronautics from Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

In 1966, he and command pilot James Lovell were launched into space in the Gemini 12 spacecraft on a 4-day flight, which brought the Gemini program to a successful close. Aldrin established a new record for extravehicular activity (EVA) at the time, spending 5-1/2 hours outside the spacecraft. Aldrin served as lunar module pilot for Apollo 11 in 1969, the first manned moon landing mission. He and Neil Armstrong became the first men to set foot on the moon and spend a little over two hours on the lunar surface. In July 1971, Aldrin resigned from NASA.