Buzz Aldrin propellants, with an expected five and a half month journey from the Earth to Mars, and a return trip to Earth of about the same duration on a twin-cycler. Aldrin continues to research this concept with engineers from Purdue University. In December 2003, Aldrin published an opinion piece in "The New York Times" criticizing NASA's objectives. In it, he voiced concern about NASA's development of a spacecraft "limited to transporting four astronauts at a time with little or no cargo carrying capability" and declared the goal of sending astronauts back to the Moon was "more like reaching for past glory
Neutral buoyancy simulation as a training aid post-mission evaluation of problems that he encountered during his Gemini IX-A EVA. NASA then modified the contract to include pre-mission training of Gemini XII astronaut, Buzz Aldrin. Astronaut Cernan also participated in this pre-mission training, as he was in a backup role to Aldrin as pilot of Gemini XII. Aldrin trained for the original Gemini XII EVA version which was then revised to eliminate the task of using a manned maneuvering unit. Aldrin returned to the McDonogh facility and trained for the final version of his EVA. NASA considered the flight EVA to be a total success, and Aldrin again