Welcome to our collection of insightful quotes by the legendary astronaut, Buzz Aldrin. As one of the pioneering figures in space exploration, Buzz Aldrin’s words resonate with the spirit of adventure, curiosity, and determination that have defined humanity’s journey beyond the bounds of Earth. From his historic Apollo 11 mission, during which he became the second person to set foot on the moon, to his continued advocacy for space exploration and colonization, Aldrin’s contributions have left an indelible mark on history.
Throughout his life, Buzz Aldrin has shared wisdom gleaned from his experiences in space and his reflections on humanity’s place in the cosmos. His words offer not only a glimpse into the challenges and triumphs of space exploration but also profound insights into the human condition and our collective aspirations. Whether discussing the awe-inspiring beauty of the lunar landscape or the importance of pushing the boundaries of what is possible, Aldrin’s quotes inspire us to reach for the stars and embrace the unknown with courage and curiosity. Discover the wisdom of Buzz Aldrin below and let his words ignite your own sense of wonder and exploration.
I feel we need to remind the world about the Apollo missions and that we can still do impossible things. Buzz Aldrin
The big companies are the private industry. But they’re faced with a short-term need to show a profit in short-term. Buzz Aldrin
The beauty of Hawaii probably surpasses other places. I like the Big Island and the two mountains, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea, where you can look out at the stars. Buzz Aldrin
Maybe it was the challenge of flight, the opportunity to fly, the competition of summer camp and the inspiration and discipline of West Point. I think all of those things helped me to develop a dedication and inspired me to get ahead. Buzz Aldrin
Mars has been flown by, orbited, smacked into, radar inspected, and rocketed onto, as well as bounced upon, rolled over, shoveled, drilled into, baked, and even laser blasted. Buzz Aldrin
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 Aldrin
It was interesting to think that the very first liquid ever poured on the Moon, and the first food eaten there, were communion elements. Buzz Aldrin
To send humans back to the moon would not be advancing. It would be more than 50 years after the first moon landing when we got there, and we’d probably be welcomed by the Chinese. But we should return to the moon without astronauts and build, with robots, an international lunar base, so that we know how to build a base on Mars robotically. Buzz Aldrin
The guys who walk on Mars are going to be historic. Buzz Aldrin
When you’re in a spacecraft, you need to know what things you can touch and what things you shouldn’t touch! Buzz Aldrin
I was the first Navy, Marine or Air Force person who had been an astronaut to return back to the Air Force. I had certain expectations about what would be a reasonable and desirable position to be assigned to after my years of service. Buzz Aldrin
Space tourism is a logical outgrowth of the adventure tourist market. Buzz Aldrin
Fighter pilots have ice in their veins. They don’t have emotions. They think, anticipate. They know that fear and other concerns cloud your mind from what’s going on and what you should be involved in. Buzz Aldrin
Going to Mars would evolve humankind into a two-planet species. Buzz Aldrin
The life expectancy of people going to Mars may be decreased by the higher level of radiation that they receive. Buzz Aldrin
The society of life on Mars, or the challenge of making Mars more livable, will have significant benefits on our attempts to modify and change in some ways the environment here on Earth. Buzz Aldrin
There’s no doubt who was a leader in space after the Apollo Program. Nobody came close to us. And our education system, in science, technology, engineering and math, was at the top of the world. It’s no longer there. We’re descending rather rapidly. Buzz Aldrin
Whenever I gaze up at the moon, I feel like I’m on a time machine. I am back to that precious pinpoint of time, standing on the foreboding – yet beautiful – Sea of Tranquility. I could see our shining blue planet Earth poised in the darkness of space. Buzz Aldrin
Retain the vision for space exploration. If we turn our backs on the vision again, we’re going to have to live in a secondary position in human space flight for the rest of the century. Buzz Aldrin
If we go back to the moon, we’re guaranteed second, maybe third place because while we are spending all that money, Russia has its eye on Mars. Landing people on the moon will be terribly consuming of resources we don’t have. It sounds great – ‘Let’s go back. This time we’re going to stay.’ I don’t know why you would want to stay on the moon. Buzz Aldrin
Tang sucks. Buzz Aldrin
Mars is much closer to the characteristics of Earth. It has a fall, winter, summer and spring. North Pole, South Pole, mountains and lots of ice. No one is going to live on Venus; no one is going to live on Jupiter. Buzz Aldrin
The decision to go to the moon is now appreciated and associated with President Kennedy’s speech, but somebody else had told him it was a good idea. It turned out to be a good commitment, but it was a unique situation. Buzz Aldrin
There were about six years when there was not one American who went into space. We shouldn’t do that again. Buzz Aldrin
There are always door openings. And gradually, it accumulates. The opportunities open up in front of you. Buzz Aldrin
Space is not just going up and coming back down again. Space is getting into orbit and being there, living there, establishing a presence, a permanence. Buzz Aldrin
I realize that my life is not the common ordinary person. Buzz Aldrin
Sending a couple of guys to the Moon and bringing them back safely? That’s a stunt! That’s not historic. Buzz Aldrin
I think both the space shuttle program and the International Space Station program have not really lived up to their expectations. Buzz Aldrin
The leader of an Earth organization who makes a commitment to history – of humans living on Earth, to begin permanent settlement/occupation of not the moon, but of another planet – this leader will have a legacy for history that will supersede Columbus, Genghis Khan or almost any recognized leader. Buzz Aldrin
The biggest benefit of Apollo was the inspiration it gave to a growing generation to get into science and aerospace. Buzz Aldrin
I suggest that going to Mars means permanence on the planet – a mission by which we are building up a confidence level to become a two-planet species. Buzz Aldrin
Nobody ever asks who was the seventh person on the Moon. The only thing they know is who’s number one and who’s number two. Does anybody know who the last man was? Buzz Aldrin
I’ve led a life of such structured discipline and always had a goal in mind of knowing what I was doing, from West Point to the Air Force combat, MIT, looking for new things to study and get involved in. And then I got into the space program, and how disciplined can you get? Buzz Aldrin
I still say, ‘Shoot for the moon; you might get there.’ Buzz Aldrin
Bringing an asteroid back to Earth? What’s that have to do with space exploration? If we were moving outward from there, and an asteroid is a good stopping point, then fine. But now it’s turned into a whole planetary defense exercise at the cost of our outward exploration. Buzz Aldrin
My favourite thing to do on this planet is to scuba dive. Buzz Aldrin
Everyone should take their hats off to Neil Armstrong. He is a humble guy who doesn’t wave his own flag. Buzz Aldrin
We should’ve asked China to be a portion of the space station. We should’ve worked out ways that we can… just give away the technology that we have that puts things up into space, with cooperation up above the atmosphere that’s needed to help each other. Buzz Aldrin
Most people never believed in the real possibility of going to the moon, and neither did I until I was in my twenties. Buzz Aldrin
Look at what Silicon Valley has done – the advance of computers. Buzz Aldrin
Walking 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 Aldrin
Timing has always been a key element in my life. I have been blessed to have been in the right place at the right time. Buzz Aldrin
When I was a little kid, we only knew about our nine planets. Since then, we’ve downgraded Pluto but have discovered that other solar systems and stars are common. So life is probably quite prevalent. Buzz Aldrin
A mind concerned about danger is a clouded mind. It’s paralyzing. Buzz Aldrin
There are many people talking about access to space and, ‘How can we make that cheaper? How can we turn that into a Southwest Airlines versus the big airlines?’ Buzz Aldrin
I think it’s inevitable that there will be Earthlings establishing a presence on Mars. And I would say that it would certainly take place by 2050 or shortly thereafter. Buzz Aldrin
If we can conquer space, we can conquer childhood hunger. Buzz Aldrin
You can tell I’m not too bashful about some of my feelings. Buzz Aldrin
The pilgrims on the Mayflower landed at Plymouth Rock. To my knowledge, they didn’t wait around for a return trip to Europe. You settle some place with a purpose. If you don’t want to do that, stay home. You avoid an awful lot of risks by not venturing outward. Buzz Aldrin
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way. Buzz Aldrin
Mars is far more attractive as an outpost colony for earthlings than the moon is. Buzz Aldrin
Russia perhaps is still entertaining the possibility that the moons of Mars might have access to ice or water. Buzz Aldrin
Do we really need these big, gigantic, heavy rockets? What if we launch a rocket that’s empty, and its sole purpose is to act as a source of fuel on the Moon? Who should build that? Well, I think the U.S. should build that. Buzz Aldrin
There’s no guarantee that the United States will be around 200 years from now. Buzz Aldrin
You can never tell when a commercial space venture will suddenly become viable. Buzz Aldrin
Any observations from the Moon or a sense of realising this or that about the greater meaning of things wasn’t as influential for me as the experience of coming back and dealing with being a person who’s been to the Moon. Buzz Aldrin
I think humans will reach Mars, and I would like to see it happen in my lifetime. Buzz Aldrin
We need the next generation to be motivated and to push technological boundaries, to seek out new innovations. Buzz Aldrin
To me, money is a commodity that a person must have to function, not a goal in itself. Buzz Aldrin
We must still think of ourselves as pioneers to understand the importance of space. Buzz Aldrin
What are you going to do with astronauts who first reach the surface of Mars and then turn around and rocket back home-ward? What are they going to do, write their memoirs? Would they go again? Having them repeat the voyage, in my view, is dim-witted. Why don’t they stay there on Mars? Buzz Aldrin
Armstrong 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 Aldrin
By refocusing our space program on Mars for America’s future, we can restore the sense of wonder and adventure in space exploration that we knew in the summer of 1969. We won the moon race; now it’s time for us to live and work on Mars, first on its moons and then on its surface. Buzz Aldrin
Anything 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 Aldrin
My 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 Aldrin
Can you imagine, in 2030, taking a space cruise on the very ship that carried the first human beings to Mars? I can’t believe that people wouldn’t line up for that possibility. Buzz Aldrin
The purpose of going to Mars is for humans to first begin to occupy, permanently, another planet in the solar system. The astronauts or pilgrims, whatever you might call them, are going to be very historically unique human beings. Buzz Aldrin
We can’t start over and develop a Saturn 5-type vehicle from scratch. Buzz Aldrin
I came to dedicate my life to opening space to the average person and crafting designs for new spaceships that could take us far from home. But since Apollo ended, such travels were only in our collective memory. Buzz Aldrin
I remember it was hard to believe that I was taking a step onto the lunar surface. Buzz Aldrin
Just as Mars – a desert planet – gives us insights into global climate change on Earth, the promise awaits for bringing back to life portions of the Red Planet through the application of Earth Science to its similar chemistry, possibly reawakening its life-bearing potential. Buzz Aldrin
Going back to the moon is not visionary in restoring space leadership for America. Like its Apollo predecessor, it will prove to be a dead end littered with broken spacecraft, broken dreams and broken policies. Buzz Aldrin
Globalisation means many other countries are asserting themselves and trying to take over leadership. Please don’t ask Americans to let others assume the leadership of human exploration. We can do wonderful science on the Moon, and wonderful commercial things. Then we can pack up and move on to Mars. Buzz Aldrin
Being first outside the spacecraft would bring much more responsibility, and I really wasn’t looking for that. Buzz Aldrin
We could have human intelligence in orbit around Mars, building things there. Buzz Aldrin
I wrote ‘Reaching for the Moon’ because I wanted to tell kids that all of us have a moon, a dream, that we can strive for. Even if you don’t attain it, you can at least reach for it. Buzz Aldrin
We 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 Aldrin
It’s real easy to manufacture what you think the people want to hear. But that’s not very honest. Buzz Aldrin
Heavy lifting doesn’t need to be heavy spending if we do the job right. Buzz Aldrin
Exploring and colonizing Mars can bring us new scientific understanding of climate change, of how planet-wide processes can make a warm and wet world into a barren landscape. By exploring and understanding Mars, we may gain key insights into the past and future of our own world. Buzz Aldrin
Space travel for everyone is the next frontier in the human experience. Buzz Aldrin
As someone who flew two space capsules and twice landed in the ocean, I can attest from personal experience how much logistics work is needed to get you home. Buzz Aldrin
There may be aliens in our Milky Way galaxy, and there are billions of other galaxies. The probability is almost certain that there is life somewhere in space. Buzz Aldrin
I think the climate has been changing for billions of years. Buzz Aldrin
I’m not in favor of just taking short-term isolated situations and depleting our resources to keep our climate just the way it is today. Buzz Aldrin
I 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 Aldrin
My first inclination is to be a bit skeptical about the claims that human-produced carbon dioxide is the direct contributor to global warming. Buzz Aldrin
As we begin to have landings on the moon, we can alternate those with vertical launch of similar crew modules on similar launch vehicles for vertical-launch tourism in space, if you want to call it that… adventure travel. Buzz Aldrin
Nobody cares about the bronze or silver medals. Buzz Aldrin
I want to keep on the move, keep stimulated and challenged. Buzz Aldrin
There’s a historical milestone in the fact that our Apollo 11 landing on the moon took place a mere 66 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight. Buzz Aldrin
I’m in favor of changing the destination of humans. There are a lot of manned missions that can be done, but not in the direction of the moon. Buzz Aldrin
Monumental achievements by humanity should be done by major organizations as much together as possible. Buzz Aldrin
All the Chinese have to do is fly around the Moon and back, and they’ll appear to have won the return to the Moon with humans. They could put one person on the surface of the Moon for one day and he’d be a national hero. Buzz Aldrin
I’ve been to the Titanic in a yellow submarine and the North Pole in a Russian nuclear ice breaker. Buzz Aldrin
The best way to study Mars is with two hands, eyes and ears of a geologist, first at a moon orbiting Mars… and then on the surface. Buzz Aldrin
By venturing into space, we improve life for everyone here on Earth – scientific advances and innovations that come from this kind of research create products we use in our daily lives. Buzz Aldrin
The way I see it, what is going to come out of the moon activities is a respect for U.S. leadership. Buzz Aldrin
I think the American Dream used to be achieving one’s goals in your field of choice – and from that, all other things would follow. Now, I think the dream has morphed into the pursuit of money: Accumulate enough of it, and the rest will follow. Buzz Aldrin
