Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin Buzz Aldrin (; born Edwin Eugene Aldrin Jr.; January 20, 1930) is an American engineer, former astronaut, and fighter pilot. As lunar module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission, he and mission commander Neil Armstrong were the first two humans to land on the Moon. Born in Glen Ridge, New Jersey, Aldrin graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York, in 1951, with a degree in mechanical engineering. He was commissioned in the United States Air Force, and served as a jet fighter pilot during the Korean War. He flew 66 combat missions and
Buzz Aldrin Collins recovered he joined Armstrong's crew as CMP. In the meantime, Fred Haise filled in as backup LMP, and Aldrin as backup CMP for Apollo 8. An effect of this was that while the CMP usually occupied the center couch on takeoff, Aldrin occupied it rather than Collins, as he had already been trained in it before Collins arrived. Apollo 11 was the second all-veteran multi-person crew on an American mission, the first being that of Apollo 10. An all-veteran crew would not be flown again until STS-26 in 1988. Early versions of the EVA checklist had the Lunar Module