Return to Earth (film) moon, and the problems he had after the mission and his return to Earth, including the breakup of his marriage, a nervous breakdown and his hospitalization for psychiatric problems. Return to Earth (film) Return to Earth is a 1976 American biopic TV movie that originally aired on May 14, 1976 on ABC. The film stars Cliff Robertson as astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Shirley Knight as Joan Aldrin. Based upon Aldrin's 1973 book of the same name, the film dramatizes the emotional difficulties of Aldrin's life following his trip to the moon on Apollo 11. The film was directed by Jud
Buzz Aldrin test pilot training, which was a prerequisite at the time. On the completion of his doctorate, Aldrin was assigned to the Gemini Target Office of the Air Force Space Systems Division in Los Angeles, working with the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation on enhancing the maneuver capabilities of the Agena target vehicle which was to be used by NASA's Project Gemini. He was then posted to the Space Systems Division's field office at NASA's Manned Spacecraft Center in Houston, where he was involved in integrating Department of Defense experiments into Project Gemini flights. Aldrin's initial application to join the astronaut corps when