Buzz Aldrin Aldrin cycler, a special spacecraft trajectory that makes travel to Mars possible using less time and propellant. He was accorded numerous honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1969, and is listed in several Halls of Fame, and has plaques on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr. was born January 20, 1930, in Mountainside Hospital, in Glen Ridge, New Jersey. His parents were Edwin Eugene Aldrin Sr. and Marion Aldrin ( Moon), who lived in neighboring Montclair, New Jersey. His father was Army aviator during World War I, and the assistant commandant of the Army's test
Buzz Aldrin 18, 1963. This made him the first astronaut with a doctoral degree. Combined with his expertise in orbital mechanics, it earned him his nickname from his fellow astronauts. "From the outset," Walter Cunningham, a fellow member of the 1963 group, recalled, "Buzz was referred to as 'Dr. Rendezvous' because of his obsession with rendezvous in space." Aldrin was aware that it was not always intended as a compliment. Jim Lovell and Aldrin were selected as the backup commander and pilot respectively of Gemini 10. Backup crews usually became the prime crew of the third following mission, but in this case