Buzz Aldrin addresses the 2016 session of the International Space University at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. (photo from Technion via Ashernet)
On July 20, 1969, Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the moon; he was followed by Buzz Aldrin, while the third member of the team, Michael Collins, orbited the moon in the expedition’s command module.
On July 26, Aldrin addressed the 2016 session of the International Space University at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa. Aldrin serves as chancellor of the ISU and, at present, the ISU’s summer program is being held at the Technion.
“We were given an opportunity to land on the moon, and the opportunity became a landmark event that changed the history of mankind,” said Aldrin in his lecture. “Four hundred thousand people were involved in the success of this mission and a half billion people were watching us making history,” he added. “When we returned from there, we were greeted as heroes, but the world cheered not only us but what we represented – conquering the impossible.”
Looking beyond the moon, Aldrin would like to see humans having a permanent presence on Mars by 2040 – to this end, he founded the Buzz Aldrin Space Institute in Florida.