Air & Space Museum Hosts Astronaut Buzz Aldrin on 55th Anniversary of Moon Landing

The San Diego Air & Space Museum on Saturday will honor Apollo astronauts on the 55th anniversary of the historic 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing.

At a Balboa Park ceremony hosted in conjunction with the International Air & Space Hall of Fame, the museum will welcome, among others, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, following Apollo 11 commander Neil Armstrong.

Also being honored Saturday will be Apollo 16 moonwalker Charles Duke, along with former Apollo Flight Director Gerry Griffin.

Armstrong and Aldrin rode the lunar module called “Eagle” onto the moon’s Sea of Tranquility on July 20, 1969, becoming the first humans to reach the lunar surface and fulfilling President John F. Kennedy’s goal of the U.S. putting a man on the moon before the end of that decade.

“The Apollo 11 moon landing on July 20, 1969 marked one of the truly historic moments in mankind’s ongoing exploration of not only planet Earth but also of our universe,” said Jim Kidrick, president and CEO of the San Diego Air & Space Museum.

“Being able to hear in-person from the American legends who were there … is an amazing once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”

Aldrin, now 94, is the last surviving member of the Apollo 11 crew.

Armstrong, who uttered the words “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” as he first set foot on the powdery lunar surface, died in 2012 at age 82. The third member of the crew, Michael Collins, died in 2021 at age 90.

Collins did not walk on the moon, instead remaining in lunar orbit in the command module, which would bring the trio home on July 24.

Aldrin flew 66 combat missions during the Korean War before joining NASA. His first space flight was aboard the Nov. 11, 1966, Gemini XII mission, in which he performed a rendezvous with a previously launched satellite and spent a record 5 1/2 hours outside the spacecraft.

For Apollo 11, he spent 2 hours and 15 minutes on the lunar surface, collecting samples and deploying experiments.

Duke, now 88, became the 10th man to set foot on the moon when he was lunar module pilot on the April 1972 flight of Apollo 16. He remains the youngest man to walk on the lunar surface, doing so at age 36 years and 201 days.

He also is known for the being the “capsule communicator,” or CAPCOM, working in Houston during Apollo 11’s white-knuckle descent to the lunar surface. He communicated with Armstrong and Aldrin while the Eagle was running dangerously low on fuel and facing a possible abort.

After Armstrong famously radioed, “Houston, Tranquility base here, the Eagle has landed,” Duke’s first words to the Apollo 11 crew on the surface were slightly fumbled.

“Roger, Twank …Tranquility, we copy you on the ground. You got a bunch of guys about to turn blue. We’re breathing again. Thanks a lot!”

In December 1972, Apollo 17 became the final Apollo mission to land men on the moon, bringing the exclusive club of moon walkers to 12.

Griffin, the third man being honored Saturday, served as a flight director during the Apollo program and director of Johnson Space Center, succeeding Chris Kraft in 1982.

– City News Service