45 years later, astronaut Buzz Aldrin reflects on the moon landing
45 yearsafter the first moon landing, Buzz Aldrin, at 84, is still pushing the outer limits, writes The Washington Post's Joel Achenbach
Question for Buzz Aldrin: Weren't you scared, in that little spacecraft, descending to the surface of the moon and not knowing for sure that you'd ever make it back to earth?
"Fighter pilots have ice in their veins," Aldrin answers. "Fear is a disabling emotion. It prevents you from thinking clearly."
Today, at 4.18am Hong Kong time, will mark the 45th anniversary of the moment the world heard those amazing words from Aldrin's Apollo 11 crewmate, the late Neil Armstrong - "Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed." - that marked the first lunar landing. Six hours later Armstrong became the first person to step foot on the moon.
Aldrin, now 84, is making much of the anniversary. He said he hoped to drop into the White House and also hoped President Barack Obama would use the anniversary to announce new ambitions for Nasa and human spaceflight. Aldrin wants to see humans travel to Mars — and stay, permanently, something he thinks the US government could accomplish in an international partnership that could include China.
He would like Obama's successor to use the 50th anniversary of the landing - July 20, 2019 - to say something Kennedyesque, such as, "I believe that this nation should commit itself within two decades to leading international permanence on the planet Mars."