Instead of planning the retirement of the Space Shuttle program, America should be preparing the shuttles for their next step in space: evolving, not shutting them down and laying off thousands of people.
Buzz AldrinRussia perhaps is still entertaining the possibility that the moons of Mars might have access to ice or water.
Buzz AldrinMy own American Dream was to serve my country as best I could and make a difference in America - and in the world.
Buzz AldrinThe surface of the moon is like nothing here on Earth! It's totally lacking any evidence of life. It has lots of fine, talcum-powderlike dust mixed with a complete variety of pebbles, rocks, and boulders. Many pebbles, fewer rocks, and even fewer boulders naturally make up its surface. The dust is a very fine, overall dark gray. And with no air molecules to separate the dust, it clings together like cement.
Buzz AldrinThis has been far more than three men on a mission to the Moon; more still than the efforts of a government and industry team; more, even, than the efforts of one nation. We feel this stands as a symbol of the insatiable curiosity of all mankind to explore the unknown.
Buzz AldrinSending a couple of guys to the Moon and bringing them back safely? That's a stunt! That's not historic.
Buzz AldrinThe government needs a role in carrying out exploration. They will be leading the development of the engines that are needed, and the private sector will take advantage of those.
Buzz AldrinNeil Armstrong was the first man to walk on the moon. I am the first man to piss his pants on the moon.
Buzz AldrinWhen the time comes to start building deep space transports and refueling rocket tankers, it will be the commercial industry that steps up, not another government-owned, government-managed enterprise.
Buzz AldrinDid the Pilgrims on the Mayflower sit around Plymouth Rock waiting for a return trip? They came here to settle. And that's what we should be doing on Mars. 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 AldrinIt's not easy to get human beings into orbit. So far only three nations have been able to do that, with all the resources that they put together. And I'm just a little skeptical that that's going to be done by the private sector without making use of what has been done by the government.
Buzz AldrinI don't believe any pair of people had been more removed physically from the rest of the world than we were.
Buzz AldrinOver the years, I think I've matured in my spiritual evolution and development to understand a bit more than the narrow religious thinking - to move beyond that through a sort of perfection of the grandiose nature of the universe, and how perfect it is it in its sense and how satisfied we should all be in our place in that.
Buzz AldrinComputers allow us to squeeze the most out of everything, whether it's Google looking up things, so I guess that tends to make us a little lazy about reading books and doing things the hard way to understand how those things work.
Buzz AldrinKnowledge of the past and an optimistic view of the present give you great opportunities.
Buzz AldrinI think I need to continue to think and plan and marry all of the different things that we could do that make transportation in space from the earth to the space station, from the earth to the moon to space stations around the moon to visiting an asteroid.
Buzz AldrinEveryone who's been in space would, I'm sure, welcome the opportunity for a return to the exhilarating experiences there. For me, a flight in a shuttle, though most satisfying, would be anticlimactic after my flight to the moon. Plus, if I pursued a flight myself, people would think that was the reason I am trying to generate interest in public spaceflight. And that's not the purpose - I want to generate interest in long-range space exploration.
Buzz AldrinArmstrong described the lunar surface as 'beautiful.' I thought to myself, 'It's not really beautiful. It's magnificent that we're here, but what a desolate place we are visiting.'
Buzz AldrinMy family has always supported my activities, whether it was doing combat in Korea, flying progressively and challenging fighter-jet aircraft in Europe, or studying for a doctor's degree at MIT. They have been always very supportive and understanding of the challenges and risks involved in my career. A family needs to work as a team, supporting each other's individual aims and aspirations.
Buzz AldrinAnything we can do in the near future that begins to stimulate the interest of people - seeing somebody down the street have an opportunity to go into space - buoys up the whole neighborhood.
Buzz AldrinWe need to begin thinking about building permanence on the Red Planet, not just have voyagers do some experiments, plant a flag and claim success. Having them go there, repeat this, in my view, is dim-witted. Why not stay there?
Buzz AldrinIt was designed to have an impact on the stalemate over Mutually Assured Destruction with the Soviet Union. Us reaching the moon convinced Gorbachev and other leaders that the Soviet Union couldn't compete with the U.S., so they revised their agenda. But people have short memories.
Buzz AldrinWe need the next generation to be motivated and to push technological boundaries, to seek out new innovations.
Buzz AldrinSpace architectures capable of supporting a permanent human presence on Mars are extraordinarily complex, with many different interdependent systems.
Buzz AldrinThe way I see it, what is going to come out of the moon activities is a respect for U.S. leadership.
Buzz AldrinI was given permission to serve myself Communion, with wine and a wafer, on the surface on the Moon. But I was advised not to say anything about it at the time. Someone had strongly objected to the Apollo 8 crew reading from the Bible. We didn't want to get into any further trouble with the religious critics.
Buzz AldrinMy sister called me "Buzzard" when I was a baby - she couldn't say "Brother" so I've been Buzz my whole life.
Buzz AldrinWalking around on the moon was significantly easier than we'd thought it would be. There weren't any balance problems, so you weren't tumbling over.
Buzz AldrinThey didn’t tell me I was going into space until after they locked the shuttle doors and started counting down.
Buzz AldrinI am excited to think that the development of commercial capabilities to send humans into low Earth orbit will likely result in so many more Earthlings being able to experience the transformative power of space flight.
Buzz AldrinMy first biography written in '73 was not 'Journey To The Moon.' It was 'Return To Earth.' Because for me, that was the more difficult task - disappointment.
Buzz AldrinThere is very little doubt, in my mind, that what the next monumental achievement of humanity will be the first landing by an Earthling, a human being, on the planet Mars.
Buzz AldrinI think we need to move to the moons of Mars and learn how to control robots that are on the surface. It's not the impatient way of getting there, but Mars has been there a long time.
Buzz AldrinI think there would be no shortage of applicants to the government astronaut corps to be settlers on the planet Mars. And I think this would be very inspiring.
Buzz AldrinAbsolutely the United States should lead in space, for the survival of the United States. It's inspiring for the next generation. If we lose leadership, then we'll be using Chinese capability to inspire Americans.
Buzz Aldrin