Editing Buzz Aldrin (section)

==== Apollo 11 ====

{{Main|Apollo 11}}
On the morning of July 16, 1969, an estimated one million spectators watched the launch of Apollo{{nbsp}}11 from the highways and beaches in the vicinity of [[Cape Canaveral]], Florida. The launch was televised live in 33 countries, with an estimated 25 million viewers in the United States alone. Millions more listened to radio broadcasts.{{sfn|Bilstein|1980|pp=369–370}}{{sfn|Benson|Faherty|1978|p=474}} Propelled by a [[Saturn V]] rocket, Apollo{{nbsp}}11 lifted off from [[Launch Complex 39]] at the [[Kennedy Space Center]] on July 16, 1969, at 13:32:00 [[UTC]] (9:32:00 [[Eastern Daylight Time|EDT]]),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html |title=Apollo 11 Mission Overview |publisher=NASA |date=December 21, 2017 |last1=Loff |first1=Sarah|access-date=January 13, 2019}}</ref> and entered Earth orbit twelve minutes later. After one and a half orbits, the [[S-IVB]] third-stage engine pushed the spacecraft onto its trajectory toward the Moon. About thirty minutes later, the [[transposition, docking, and extraction]] maneuver was performed: this involved separating the [[Apollo command module|command module]] [[Command Module Columbia|''Columbia'']] from the spent S-IVB stage; turning around; and docking with, and extracting, the [[Lunar Module Eagle|lunar module ''Eagle'']]. The combined spacecraft then headed for the Moon, while the S-IVB stage continued on a trajectory past the Moon.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}}

[[File:Aldrin Apollo 11 original.jpg|thumb|left|Aldrin walks on the surface of the Moon during Apollo 11. Photograph by Neil Armstrong, who can be seen reflected in Aldrin's visor.|alt=Aldrin stands on the Moon. Armstrong and the [[Lunar Module Eagle|Lunar Module ''Eagle'']] are reflected in his visor.]][[File:AP11 FINAL APPROACH.ogv|thumb|Aldrin calls out speeds in feet per second and distances in feet as Armstrong pilots [[Lunar Module Eagle|''Eagle'']] to its lunar landing, establishing [[Tranquility Base]], July 20, 1969.]][[File:938-AAG-Trimmed.wav|thumb|left|Aldrin's first words after he set foot on the Moon]]
On July 19 at 17:21:50 UTC, Apollo{{nbsp}}11 passed behind the Moon and fired its service propulsion engine to enter [[lunar orbit]].{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}} In the thirty orbits that followed,<ref name="Apollo-11 (27)">{{cite web |url=http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/history/apollo/apollo-11/apollo-11.html |title=Apollo-11 (27) |work=Historical Archive for Manned Missions |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref> the crew saw passing views of their landing site in the southern [[Sea of Tranquillity]] about {{convert|12|mi|km}} southwest of the crater [[Collins (crater)|Sabine D]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/A11_PressKit.pdf |title=Apollo 11 Lunar Landing Mission |date=July 6, 1969 |publisher=NASA |location=Washington, D.C. |type=Press kit |id=Release No: 69-83K |access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref> At 12:52:00 UTC on July 20, Aldrin and Armstrong entered ''Eagle'', and began the final preparations for lunar descent. At 17:44:00 ''Eagle'' separated from the ''Columbia''.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}} Collins, alone aboard ''Columbia'', inspected ''Eagle'' as it pirouetted before him to ensure the craft was not damaged and that the landing gear had correctly deployed.{{sfn|Manned Spacecraft Center|1969|p=9}}{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|p=209}}

Throughout the descent, Aldrin called out navigation data to Armstrong, who was busy piloting the ''Eagle''.{{sfn|Mindell|2008|p=226}} Five minutes into the descent burn, and {{convert|6000|ft|m|-2}} above the surface of the Moon, the [[Apollo Guidance Computer|LM guidance computer]] (LGC) distracted the crew with the first of several unexpected alarms that indicated that it could not complete all its tasks in real time and had to postpone some of them.{{sfn|Collins|Aldrin|1975|pp=210–212}} Due to the 1202/1201 program alarms caused by spurious rendezvous radar inputs to the LGC,<ref name=radar>
{{citation |url=http://klabs.org/history/apollo_11_alarms/eyles_2004/eyles_2004.htm |title=Tales From The Lunar Module Guidance Computer |first=Don |last=Eyles |publisher=American Astronautical Society |date=February 6, 2004 |work=27th annual Guidance and Control Conference |place=Breckenridge, Colorado}}</ref> Armstrong manually landed the ''Eagle'' instead of using the computer's autopilot. The ''Eagle'' landed at 20:17:40 UTC on Sunday July 20 with about 25 seconds of fuel left.<ref name="ALSJ 1">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |title=The First Lunar Landing |date=1995 |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013 |archive-date=December 27, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227230604/http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.landing.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

As a [[Presbyterian elder]], Aldrin was the first and only person to hold a religious ceremony on the Moon. He radioed Earth: "I'd like to take this opportunity to ask every person listening in, whoever and wherever they may be, to pause for a moment and contemplate the events of the past few hours, and to give thanks in his or her own way."{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=205}} Using a kit given to him by his pastor,{{sfn|Farmer|Hamblin|1970|p=251}} he took [[Eucharist|communion]] and read Jesus's words from the [[New Testament]]'s John 15:5, as Aldrin records it: "I am the vine. You are the branches. Whoever remains in me, and I in him, will bear much fruit; for you can do nothing without me."{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2009|pp=26–27; online: https://books.google.com/books?id=Ey9qaUExkAwC&q=vine#v=snippet&f=false.}} But he kept this ceremony secret because of a lawsuit over the [[reading of Genesis on Apollo 8]].{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=204}} In 1970 he commented: "It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/life-advice/finding-life-purpose/guideposts-classics-buzz-aldrin-on-communion-in-space |series=Guideposts Classics |title=Buzz Aldrin on Communion in Space |date=July 10, 2014 |orig-year=1970 |work=Guideposts |last1=Aldrin |first1=Buzz |access-date=January 21, 2019 |archive-date=April 17, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417181815/https://www.guideposts.org/better-living/life-advice/finding-life-purpose/guideposts-classics-buzz-aldrin-on-communion-in-space |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On reflection in his 2009 book, Aldrin said, "Perhaps, if I had it to do over again, I would not choose to celebrate communion. Although it was a deeply meaningful experience for me, it was a Christian sacrament, and we had come to the moon in the name of all mankind – be they [[Christians]], [[Jews]], [[Muslims]], [[animists]], [[agnostics]], or [[atheists]]. But at the time I could think of no better way to acknowledge the enormity of the Apollo{{nbsp}}11 experience than by giving thanks to God."{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2009|p=27}} Aldrin shortly hit upon a more universally human reference on the voyage back to Earth by publicly broadcasting his reading of the [[Old Testament]]'s Psalm 8:3–4, as Aldrin records: "When I considered the heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and the stars which Thou hast ordained, what is man that Thou art mindful of him."{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2009|pp=51–52; online: https://books.google.com/books?id=HRlO8_7mzH0C&vq=Psalms&pg=PA52#v.}} Photos of these liturgical documents reveal the conflict's development as Aldrin expresses faith.<ref>{{cite web |title=Buzz Aldrin – Handwritten Notes and Scriptures Flown to the Surface of the Moon |url=https://historical.ha.com/itm/autographs/celebrities/buzz-aldrin-handwritten-notes-and-scriptures-flown-to-the-surface-of-the-moon/a/669-25370.s?ic16=ViewItem |website=Heritage Auctions |access-date=July 25, 2019}}</ref>

[[File:Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag.jpg|Aldrin saluting the [[Lunar Flag Assembly]]|thumb]]
Preparations for the EVA began at 23:43.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}} Once Armstrong and Aldrin were ready to go outside, ''Eagle'' was depressurized, and the hatch was opened at 02:39:33 on July 21.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}}{{sfn|Cortright|1975|p=215}} Aldrin set foot on the Moon at 03:15:16 on July 21, 1969 (UTC),<!-- Do not change, see FAQ --> nineteen minutes after Armstrong first touched the surface.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}} Armstrong and Aldrin became the first and second people, respectively, to walk on the Moon. Aldrin's first words after he set foot on the Moon were "Beautiful view", to which Armstrong asked "Isn't that something? Magnificent sight out here." Aldrin answered, "Magnificent desolation."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11transcript_tec.html |title=Apollo 11 Transcription |publisher=NASA |work=Apollo Lunar Surface Journal|access-date=January 13, 2019|editor-last=Schwagmeier|editor-first=Thomas}}</ref> Aldrin and Armstrong had trouble erecting the [[Lunar Flag Assembly]], but with some effort secured it into the surface. Aldrin saluted the flag while Armstrong photographed the scene. Aldrin positioned himself in front of the video camera and began experimenting with different locomotion methods to move about the lunar surface to aid future moonwalkers.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=212–213}} During these experiments, President Nixon called the duo to congratulate them on the successful landing. Nixon closed with, "Thank you very much, and all of us look forward to seeing you on the ''Hornet'' on Thursday."{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=215}} Aldrin replied, "I look forward to that very much, sir."{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|p=215}}{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=214–215}}

After the call, Aldrin began photographing and inspecting the spacecraft to document and verify its condition before their flight. Aldrin and Armstrong then set up a [[seismometer]], to detect moonquakes, and a [[laser beam]] reflector. While Armstrong inspected a crater, Aldrin began the difficult task of hammering a metal tube into the surface to obtain a core sample.{{sfn|Chaikin|2007|pp=216–217}} Most of the iconic photographs of an astronaut on the Moon taken by the Apollo{{nbsp}}11 astronauts are of Aldrin; Armstrong appears in just two color photographs. "As the sequence of lunar operations evolved," Aldrin explained, "Neil had the camera most of the time, and the majority of the pictures taken on the Moon that include an astronaut are of me. It wasn't until we were back on Earth and in the Lunar Receiving Laboratory looking over the pictures that we realized there were few pictures of Neil. My fault perhaps, but we had never simulated this during our training."<ref name="Missing Man">{{cite magazine |magazine=The Atlantic |title=The Missing Man: There Are No Good Pictures of Neil Armstrong on the Moon |first=Rebecca J. |last=Rosen |date=August 27, 2012 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/the-missing-man-there-are-no-good-pictures-of-neil-armstrong-on-the-moon/261622/ |access-date=November 10, 2018}}</ref>

Aldrin reentered ''Eagle'' first but, as he tells it, before ascending the module's ladder he became the first person to urinate on the Moon.<ref>{{cite web |first=Tibi |last=Puiu |url=https://www.zmescience.com/space/short-fact-the-first-man-to-pee-on-the-moon-buzz-aldrin/|title=Short fact: the first man to pee on the moon, Buzz Aldrin |publisher=ZME Science |date=July 20, 2011 |access-date=July 21, 2019}}</ref> With some difficulty they lifted film and two sample boxes containing {{convert|21.55|kg|lb}} of lunar surface material to the hatch using a flat cable pulley device.<ref name="ALSJ 3">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.summary.html |title=First Steps |date=1995 |editor1-last=Jones |editor1-first=Eric M. |editor2-last=Glover |editor2-first=Ken |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 23, 2006}}</ref> Armstrong reminded Aldrin of a bag of memorial items in his sleeve pocket, and Aldrin tossed the bag down. It contained a mission patch for the [[Apollo 1]] flight that Ed White never flew due to [[Apollo 1#Accident|his death in a cabin fire during the launch rehearsal]]; medallions commemorating [[Yuri Gagarin]], the first man in space (who had [[Death of Yuri Gagarin|died the previous year in a test flight accident]]), and [[Vladimir Komarov]], the first man to [[Soyuz 1|die in a space flight]], and a silicon disk etched with goodwill messages from 73 nations.{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2009|p=41}} After transferring to LM [[life support]], the explorers lightened the ascent stage for the return to lunar orbit by tossing out their backpacks, lunar overshoes, an empty [[Hasselblad]] camera, and other equipment. The hatch was closed again at 05:01, and they repressurized the lunar module and settled down to sleep.<ref name="ALSJ 6">{{cite web |url=http://www.hq.nasa.gov/alsj/a11/a11.posteva.html |title=Trying to Rest |editor-last=Jones |editor-first=Eric M. |date=1995 |work=Apollo 11 Lunar Surface Journal |publisher=NASA |access-date=June 13, 2013}}</ref>
[[File:Buzz Aldrin's bootprint on the Moon, AS11-40-5877 (21472308758).jpg|thumb|left|Aldrin's lunar bootprint in a photo taken by him on July 21, 1969|alt=A bootprint in gray dust.]]
[[File:Earth, Moon and Lunar Module, AS11-44-6643 c.jpg|thumb|[[Lunar Module Eagle|''Eagle'']] in orbit above the Moon, photo by [[Michael Collins (astronaut)|Michael Collins]]]]
At 17:54 UTC, they lifted off in ''Eagle''{{'s}} ascent stage to rejoin Collins aboard ''Columbia'' in lunar orbit.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}} After rendezvous with ''Columbia'', the ascent stage was jettisoned into lunar orbit, and ''Columbia'' made its way back to Earth.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.html |title=Apollo Tables |last=Williams |first=David R. |publisher=NASA |access-date=September 23, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061001125211/http://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/apollo_tables.html |archive-date=October 1, 2006}}</ref> It splashed down in the Pacific {{convert|2660|km|nmi|abbr=on}} east of [[Wake Island]] at 16:50 UTC (05:50 local time) on July 24.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|pp=102–110}}<ref name="ALSJ Re-entry">{{cite web |url=https://history.nasa.gov/afj/ap11fj/26day9-reentry.html |work=Apollo 11 Flight Journal |title=Day 9: Re-entry and Splashdown |publisher=NASA |editor-first1=W. David |editor-last1=Woods |editor-first2=Kenneth D. |editor-last2=MacTaggart |editor-first3=Frank |editor-last3=O'Brien |access-date=September 27, 2018}}</ref> The total mission duration was 195 hours, 18 minutes, 35 seconds.{{sfn|Orloff|2000|p=98}}

Bringing back [[pathogen]]s from the lunar surface was considered a possibility, albeit remote, so divers passed biological isolation garments (BIGs) to the astronauts, and assisted them into the life raft. The astronauts were winched on board the recovery helicopter, and flown to the aircraft carrier {{USS|Hornet|CV-12|6}},{{sfn| Manned Spacecraft Center|1969|pp=164–167}} where they spent the first part of the Earth-based portion of 21 days of quarantine.{{sfn|Carmichael|2010|pp=199–200}} On August 13, the three astronauts rode in ticker-tape parades in their honor in New York and Chicago, attended by an estimated six million people.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531303/the_evening_sun/ |title=President Offers Toast to 'Three Brave Men' |newspaper=The Evening Sun |date=August 14, 1969 |page=1 |location=Baltimore, Maryland |via=Newspapers.com |agency=Associated Press}}</ref> An official [[state dinner]] that evening in Los Angeles celebrated the flight. President [[Richard Nixon]] honored each of them with the highest American civilian award, the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (with distinction).<ref name="LADinner">{{cite web |url=https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/remarks-dinner-los-angeles-honoring-the-apollo-11-astronauts |title=Richard Nixon: Remarks at a Dinner in Los Angeles Honoring the Apollo{{nbsp}}11 Astronauts |date=August 13, 1969 |publisher=The American Presidency Project|access-date=November 20, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27531557/the_honolulu_advertiser/ |title=Astronauts Awed by the Acclaim |newspaper=The Honolulu Advertiser |location=Honolulu, Hawaii |page=1 |date=August 14, 1969 |last1=Smith |first1=Merriman |agency=UPI |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

On September 16, 1969, the astronauts addressed a [[joint session of the United States Congress|joint session of Congress]] where they thanked the representatives for their past support and implored them to continue funding the space effort.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://history.house.gov/HistoricalHighlight/Detail/35693 |title=The Apollo 11 Crew Members Appear Before a Joint Meeting of Congress|access-date=March 3, 2018 |publisher=[[United States House of Representatives]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27530988/daily_news/ |title=Astro Bids Congress Put a Yank on Mars |newspaper=Daily News |location=New York|date=September 17, 1969 |page=6 |via=Newspapers.com |last1=Bloom |first1=Mark}}</ref> The astronauts embarked on a 38-day world tour on September 29 that brought the astronauts to 22 foreign countries and included visits with leaders of multiple countries.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27494178/the_logan_daily_news/ |title=Apollo 11 Crew Starts World Tour |agency=Associated Press |date=September 29, 1969 |page=1 |location=Logan, Ohio |newspaper=Logan Daily News |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref> The last leg of the tour included Australia, South Korea, and Japan; the crew returned to the US on November 5, 1969.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529119/the_los_angeles_times/ |title=Japan's Sato Gives Medals to Apollo Crew |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=November 5, 1969 |page=20 |location=Los Angeles, California |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/27529322/the_sydney_morning_herald/ |title=Australia Welcomes Apollo 11 Heroes |date=November 1, 1969 |newspaper=The Sydney Morning Herald |location=Sydney, New South Wales |page=1 |via=Newspapers.com}}</ref>

After Apollo 11, Aldrin was kept busy giving speeches and making public appearances. In October 1970, he joined Soviet cosmonauts [[Andriyan Nikolayev]] and [[Vitaly Sevastyanov]] on their tour of the NASA space centers. He was also involved in the design of the [[Space Shuttle]]. With the Apollo program coming to an end, Aldrin, now a [[colonel (United States)|colonel]], saw few prospects at NASA, and decided to return to the Air Force on July 1, 1971.{{sfn|Aldrin|Abraham|2009|pp=81–87}} During his NASA career, he had spent 289 hours and 53 minutes in space, of which 7 hours and 52 minutes was in EVA.<ref name="nasabio" />