50 Fun Facts About Buzz Aldrin

What name was he given at birth?

'Buzz' came from his sister mispronouncing 'brother' as 'buzzer'; it became his legal name in 1988.

How did Aldrin get the nickname 'Buzz'?

He legally changed his first name to Buzz in 1988.

In which state was Aldrin born?

He was born in Glen Ridge and his parents lived in neighbouring Montclair.

What was his mother's maiden name?

Marion Moon Aldrin was the daughter of an Army chaplain.

From which academy did Aldrin graduate third in the class of 1951?

His father had wanted him to go to the Naval Academy, but Aldrin suffered from seasickness.

Why did Aldrin reject his father's plan for him to attend the Naval Academy?

He asked Senator Albert Hawkes to switch his nomination to West Point instead.

How many MiG-15s did Aldrin shoot down in the Korean War?

He flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and earned two Distinguished Flying Crosses.

Which magazine printed Aldrin's gun-camera footage of a MiG pilot ejecting in 1953?

The first of his two kills came on May 14, 1953, near the Yalu River.

Which fighter did Aldrin fly in combat over Korea?

Like most jet pilots of the era he preferred it to the F-80.

Which future astronaut was Aldrin's squadron colleague at Bitburg Air Base in West Germany?

White encouraged him to follow him to graduate school.

From which university did Aldrin earn his doctorate in astronautics?

He was the first astronaut to hold a doctoral degree.

What nickname did fellow astronauts give Aldrin because of his doctoral thesis?

The thesis was titled Line-of-Sight Guidance Techniques for Manned Orbital Rendezvous.

Why was Aldrin's first application to NASA in 1962 rejected?

The 1963 selection accepted 1,000 jet hours instead, and he had 2,200.

Aldrin was one of fourteen chosen in October 1963 for which NASA astronaut intake?

He was one of fourteen chosen.

Who commanded Gemini 12 alongside Aldrin?

Cooper and Cernan were the backup crew.

What preparation method, new for Gemini 12, helped Aldrin succeed at spacewalking?

Previous spacewalkers had become exhausted; handholds on the capsule went from nine to 44.

How many spacewalks did Aldrin perform on Gemini 12?

Two were standup EVAs; the free-flight one lasted two hours and six minutes.

What celestial event did the Gemini 12 crew photograph on November 12, 1966?

The Agena's secondary propulsion positioned them to see it over South America.

Which ship recovered the Gemini 12 crew in the Atlantic?

The Apollo 11 recovery ship three years later was the Hornet.

What role did Aldrin hold on Apollo 11?

Michael Collins stayed in lunar orbit in Columbia while Aldrin and Armstrong flew Eagle.

Who did Deke Slayton offer Armstrong as a replacement for Aldrin on Apollo 11?

Armstrong thought it over for a day and declined, saying Lovell deserved his own command.

How long after Armstrong did Aldrin step onto the Moon?

He stepped off at 03:15:16 UTC on July 21, 1969.

What were Aldrin's two-word description of the lunar surface, later a book title?

His first words after stepping off were actually 'Beautiful view'.

What private religious act did Aldrin perform on the Moon?

He kept it quiet because of a lawsuit over Apollo 8's Genesis reading.

Which Bible passage did Aldrin read aloud on the return trip from the Moon?

He chose it as a more universal text than his private communion on the surface.

Why are most of the famous Apollo 11 photos of an astronaut on the Moon of Aldrin?

Armstrong appears in only two colour photographs from the surface.

What did Aldrin claim to be the first person to do before climbing Eagle's ladder?

He re-entered the lunar module first.

Which president phoned Armstrong and Aldrin on the lunar surface?

Nixon later presented the crew with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

How many days of quarantine did the Apollo 11 crew serve after splashdown?

Divers passed them biological isolation garments before they left the capsule.

Which aircraft carrier recovered the Apollo 11 crew?

Nixon told them on the Moon he would see them aboard it that Thursday.

After leaving NASA in 1971, Aldrin became commandant of what?

He had no test-pilot experience himself, and the post proved deeply stressful.

At what rank did Aldrin retire from the Air Force in 1972?

In 2023 he received an honorary promotion to brigadier general.

What was the title of Aldrin's 1973 autobiography?

It was filmed for TV in 1976 with Cliff Robertson as Aldrin.

What job did a therapist encourage Aldrin to take in the 1970s, at which he had 'no talent'?

He quit drinking for good in October 1978.

Which conspiracy theorist did the 72-year-old Aldrin punch in 2002?

Sibrel had demanded he swear on a Bible that the landings were faked; police declined to press charges.

What did Aldrin say the 'UFO' seen by the Apollo 11 crew most likely was?

He told Howard Stern the crew were 99.9 percent sure.

At 86, Aldrin became the oldest person to reach which place?

He fell ill and was evacuated to New Zealand; he had reached the North Pole in 1998.

What is the Aldrin cycler?

It gives a five-and-a-half-month trip each way using less propellant.

Which Toy Story character was named in honour of Aldrin?

The Aldrin crater near the Apollo 11 site is also named for him.

With which rapper did Aldrin record 'Rocket Experience' for the landing's 40th anniversary?

Quincy Jones, Talib Kweli and Soulja Boy also took part; proceeds went to his ShareSpace foundation.

Who played Aldrin in the 2018 film First Man?

Bryan Cranston had played him in From the Earth to the Moon.

Which actor portrayed Aldrin in the 1998 miniseries From the Earth to the Moon?

He reprised the role in the 2005 IMAX film Magnificent Desolation.

How many times has Aldrin been married?

His fourth wedding, to Anca Faur, was on his 93rd birthday in 2023.

On which birthday did Aldrin marry Anca Faur in 2023?

She died in October 2025; he called her the love of his life.

What fraternal organisation's flag did Aldrin carry to the Moon?

It now sits in the archives of the House of the Temple in Washington, D.C.

Which pastime does Aldrin often cite as a great passion, first learned in Tripoli in 1957?

He marked his 80th birthday swimming with sharks in the Galápagos.

What did Aldrin's 2003 New York Times piece criticise a return to the Moon as?

He has long argued for making Mars the destination and the Moon a departure point.

Which 1993 video game, bearing his name, did he work on as a consultant?

It simulated the Space Race from both sides.

How much time did Aldrin spend in space during his NASA career?

Just under eight of those hours were spent on spacewalks.

How many handholds did NASA fit on Gemini 12, up from nine on Gemini 9?

Workstations where Aldrin could anchor his feet were added as well.