Who Was The 2nd Man On The Moon?

American former astronaut, trained engineer and fighter pilot, Buzz Aldrin, is the second man to ever reach the moon with Neil Armstrong.

Born on January 20, 1930, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin walked on the space three times as pilot of the 1966 Gemini 12 mission and as the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission.

Upon graduation from the United States Military Academy, Aldrin worked as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War, flying 66 combat missions and blowing off two MiG-15 aircraft.

Aldrin became the first astronaut with a doctoral degree when he bagged his PhD in astronautics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

After setting foot on the moon, Aldrin had held a religious ceremony on the Moon and had taken communion on his own.

Aldrin left NASA in 1971, and was made Commandant of the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School, where he served for 21 years.

The space hero has won numerous awards and honours, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969.

In 1982, Aldrin was inducted into the International Space Hall of Fame; in 1993, he was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame; in 2000, the National Aviation Hall of Fame; and in 2008, the New Jersey Hall of Fame.