The decision to go to the moon is now appreciated and associated with President Kennedy’s speech, but somebody else had told him it was a good idea. It turned out to be a good commitment, but it was a unique situation. – Buzz Aldrin
I think the American Dream used to be achieving one’s goals in your field of choice – and from that, all other things would follow. Now, I think the dream has morphed into the pursuit of money: Accumulate enough of it, and the rest will follow. – Buzz Aldrin
I think it’s inevitable that there will be Earthlings establishing a presence on Mars. And I would say that it would certainly take place by 2050 or shortly thereafter. – Buzz Aldrin
When you go to Mars, you need to have made the decision that you’re there permanently. The more people we have there, the more it can become a sustaining environment. Except for very rare exceptions, the people who go to Mars shouldn’t be coming back. Once you get on the surface, you’re there. – Buzz Aldrin
‘Anthony and the Magic Picture Frame’ tells it like it really was in America’s early space program – the adventure, the risks, and the rewards. – Buzz Aldrin
To move forward, what’s required is a unified space agenda based on exploration, science, development, commerce, and security. – Buzz Aldrin
Trips to Mars, the Moon, even orbit, will require that we provide astrotourists with as many comforts from home as possible, including paying each other. – Buzz Aldrin
Do we really need these big, gigantic, heavy rockets? What if we launch a rocket that’s empty, and its sole purpose is to act as a source of fuel on the Moon? Who should build that? Well, I think the U.S. should build that. – Buzz Aldrin
What are you going to do with astronauts who first reach the surface of Mars and then turn around and rocket back home-ward? What are they going to do, write their memoirs? Would they go again? Having them repeat the voyage, in my view, is dim-witted. Why don’t they stay there on Mars? – Buzz Aldrin
When I was a little kid, we only knew about our nine planets. Since then, we’ve downgraded Pluto but have discovered that other solar systems and stars are common. So life is probably quite prevalent. – Buzz Aldrin
I wrote ‘Reaching for the Moon’ because I wanted to tell kids that all of us have a moon, a dream, that we can strive for. Even if you don’t attain it, you can at least reach for it. – Buzz Aldrin
I’m sure that there are places in the deserts in Australia that could be similar to where we might want to go on Mars. – Buzz Aldrin
The best way to study Mars is with two hands, eyes and ears of a geologist, first at a moon orbiting Mars… and then on the surface. – Buzz Aldrin
My expertise is the space program and what it should be in the future based on my experience of looking at the transitions that we’ve made between pre-Sputnik days and getting to the moon. – Buzz Aldrin
Russia perhaps is still entertaining the possibility that the moons of Mars might have access to ice or water. – Buzz Aldrin
There were about six years when there was not one American who went into space. We shouldn’t do that again. – Buzz Aldrin
Somebody would think I was trying to get favored treatment because my ancestors had the name Moon. And that’s a joke. – Buzz Aldrin
Sending a couple of guys to the Moon and bringing them back safely? That’s a stunt! That’s not historic. – Buzz Aldrin
Going back to the moon is not visionary in restoring space leadership for America. Like its Apollo predecessor, it will prove to be a dead end littered with broken spacecraft, broken dreams and broken policies. – Buzz Aldrin
A family needs to work as a team, supporting each other’s individual aims and aspirations. – Buzz Aldrin
There’s a need for accepting responsibility – for a person’s life and making choices that are not just ones for immediate short-term comfort. You need to make an investment, and the investment is in health and education. – Buzz Aldrin