Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin: “Those Looking at the Full Moon also Remember us!”

July 20, 1969… The spacecraft 'Eagle' landed on the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility – more than 400 thousand kilometres from planet Earth. As the door of the craft opened, astronaut Neil Armstrong made the giant leap forever changing man’s relationship to the universe by taking the first step onto the dusty surface of the moon. From the tiny pastry shops of Paris, to the spice infused streets of Bombay, from the crowded alleys of Beijing, and in the colourful streets of Istanbul, people around the globe, were glued to their radios and TVs, awaiting this monumental step. Astronaut 'Buzz' Aldrin, who had the privilege of being the second man to walk on the Moon minutes after Mr. Armstrong, became the symbol of this historical trip -- the photo of him taken by Armstrong on the lonely planet's surface is forever etched into the memories of all humans. Mr. Aldrin recently spoke with Turkish journalist Ali Çimen. The two sat down on the shores of the Bosphorus to discuss his memories, dreams and vision of space exploration 36 years after this magnificent event…

We met Mr. ‘Man on the Moon’ in Ciragan Palace Kempinski in Istanbul, where he came for a short holiday with his wife. In Turkey for the second time since his first visit in 1969 for their jubilee trip of Moon travel, Aldrin, who is now 75, still seems to be fit and ready for a new launch. His blues eyes shone remarkably, when we spoke about the moon. He went into a depression that he inherited from his mother after returning to earth and for some time fought alcoholism. He gets divorced. After a long time in therapy, he recovers and remarries. He devotes himself to a lifetime vision, which he describes by saying ‘every one on earth must be able to feel the excitement we had in space… They must be given the chance of space travel.’

How was the decision made once the Eagle landed, who was going to walk first? Did you ever think: ‘I wish I could have been the first man on the moon?’

No! It was clear months ago what we were going to do. Neil was our commander and had been treated in some other areas we had not been. That is why it was quite normal that he was the first man on the moon.

This should not be a problem anyway. Your photos on the moon became the symbol of this historical step!

Ah, yes. Things like this happen in life! (smiling)

What did you feel just as you stepped on the moon? Did you feel fear?

Fear shadows your logic. So, I did not. We were prepared for all possible scenarios. We were even very happy, making jokes. I recall now when we were getting ready to leave the moon, Houston said, ‘Apollo 11, you're cleared for lift off.’ And I said, ‘Roger, we're number one on the runway.’ There was no one else up there! (smiling)

Why do you think the Russians could not go to the Moon either before or after the US?

They had two programs that were competing somewhat with each other. They had also lost their main leader, Sergeri Korolov, the father of the Russian Space Program. Those reasons made it very difficult and once we had succeeded, they tried to keep their big rocket going, but then they switched to the story that they did not to intend to go to moon. They did not want to be second. They lost their motivation… at least in their political leadership…

If the US were unsuccessful in its bid to land on the moon, what is the most significant way it would have changed the course of history?

I think we would have continued to try! Depending on what the event was, we would have reacted in some appropriate way to continue on… To suppose, hypothetical failure without specifying exactly what it was, it is hard to cover every case. Someone may ask me what we would have done if we did not take off from the moon. Well, we would continue to work on and fix whatever the problem was. So, we could lift off! (smiling)

What would have changed in history if the Russians had stepped on Moon before you? Would we be living in a different world?

Let me answer that in another way by saying I believe that the success we had by landing on the moon first was the beginning of a realization by the leadership that when America decided to do something they had the strength and momentum to continue. So that was an early indication of the beginning of a realization of whatever the challenges there were between the two superpowers that we had the momentum… and later, when President Reagan suggested that we would build a defence against the missiles, which was the threat that the Russians always had, and the realization if we proceed to do that, we would probably win that also, and their economy clearly could not support that. They decided they really could not support continuing to try to go to the moon... What they did do was to shift from the rocket that was unsuccessful, to another rocket that appeared to make up somewhat for the differences…and then as we announced our plans to build the space shuttle, their leadership decided that the quickest response to that was to build a similar shuttle, Buran. So, there is an accumulation of attempts by the Russians to match what we were doing and that was unsuccessful. So, the beginning of the cracking part, of the inability of the Soviet system to match the open reaction, the response to freedom was, the space program.

What do you feel when you hear the conspiracy theories claiming man never went to the moon? What do you think lies behind this?

I don’t pay much attention! I feel sorry for the people who are gullible enough to believe this. I feel disgusted at the people who are propelling themselves at the expense of not knowledgeable… or people who are uncertain and swayed by the ironies, arguments… This is a time in human progression when we deal with precision… we have people better dealing with non-precision. They believe in astrology, not astronomy. They believe the position of the planets at the instant they were born determines their lives. There is nothing that says this is true, but that is an interesting conversation. But it has no basis with truth. It is as we call it ‘old wive’s tales.’ They have nothing better to talk about.

Do you think the super power status of the US has something to do with the great effort spent for space exploration?

Certainly. We came out of World War II, the winners and a new period of time began when we felt responsible for the rest of the people living in other parts of the globe. The intension of the Russians, that were making atomic weapons, hydrogen bombs and seemed determined to spread Communism, was clear: World domination. So they also attempted to do something in space and technology. Not to respond to America accordingly, that is the counter force then, it was something unthinkable. Of course, that we went to the Moon was not a response to this. We gave more importance to the scientific development itself and brought all the brains of the country together. That was a scientific campaign!

What is your personal view of President Kennedy? Do you think he played an important role in America’s going to Moon?

He was a very charismatic individual and he spoke very well, he spoke clearly and with force, and the impact of his challenge, to go to the moon, to continue to the last and to resonate thus even today. We chose to do this exactly not because they are easy, but because they are hard. That is a challenge to every person in their lives, to do the best they can in whatever they face. That is enduring. Had he not been assassinated, his political statute probably would have come down some. Where as the vision, the myth of Kennedy, the charisma and Camelot remained and was not tarnished by Southeast Asian activities and the Vietnam War as subsequent presidents’ were… So, he remains an icon of challenge and success despite the fact that it occurred not in president Jonhson’s term, but in president Nixon’s term…

What did you feel first when you heard Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space? Were you dreaming to be an astronaut then?

No, I was in Germany from 1956 to 1959. So once Sputnik occurred, it was not a direct challenge to our tactical position in supersonic fighter aircraft to patrol the border. We changed to the tactical mission of delivering nuclear weapons halfway through at the time that Sputnik occurred. So we had our own challenges of learning how to, in the event of some invasion of the Russians in Europe… how to respond accordingly…Otherwise we were occupied at the time of Sputnik. I chose to further my education at MIT when I left Europe in 1959. We knew by then that the Russians would be following Sputnik, with dogs in Space and they were certainly moving towards people in space. When President Kennedy took office, I was in the midst of my education. And one day I read on the cover of Life magazine that the astronauts were chosen for our Mercury program. We heard of Gagarin in 1961. We responded by sending Alan Shephard, but knew we had a lot to do…

There are two different approaches to the Space Exploration Missions in the US. A group of people claims that robotic explorers should be sent into Space, but to the contrary, another group, which you also belong to, claims that using human explorers for Space missions is inevitable.

I wonder what those people think about why the Chinese, the Russian and the Europeans prefer to send humans into Space or who is going to decide about that? In the end, we set our goals and we definitely know that as long as people support that sending humans into Space is the most effective and efficient method. It is interesting… sometimes people ask ‘why don’t you go to the Moon again?’ Our purpose is not to invade or colonize the Moon. With this mission, we proved that human beings can go to the Moon and come back to the Earth safely and also we searched for an answer for what else can be done afterwards.

You have money, fame and power. What motivates you to write books about Space?

I am definitely not rich. You can be sure that there are many people richer than me here (smiling by showing the yachts around Ciragan Palace). Why am I writing? There are ups and downs in life. For example after returning from the Moon I suffered from depression due to a genetic reason, I inherited a vulnerability to depression from my mother. I also suffered from alcoholism. It took me 10-15 years to recover. I wanted to tell these personal and professional experiences, and also my professional vision to coming generations.

Have you bought your ring from Turkey? It has a moon and a star as in theTurkish Flag. What does it symbolize?

No. I ordered it to be made in San Francisco. It symbolizes Space. The space between the moon and the star symbolizes Space, which I believe works as a bridge for our relationships with other worlds. I want to buy diamond from Istanbul and add it on. Actually, to tell you the truth, I would like to put on a small piece of the stones that we brought back from the Moon. But unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to keep any... (laughing)

Not even a small piece?

No. First of all, the things we brought back from the Moon belong to all humanity not to America. And also the Moon itself is considered as scientific material. That’s why we were not allowed to keep them for personal use. And, we were also kept in quarantine for a while after returning to Earth because of the thought that the stones from the Moon might be toxic. As far as I know, many of the World Presidents, Kings and Queens were given some of these stones as a gift.

Was it given to someone from Turkey?

I am not sure; but I think it was. We visited your President in Ankara in 1969. I can’t recall the name now.

Now you dedicated yourself to Space Tourism. Would you like to tell us about your vision?

Yes. I founded a company for that: ShareSpace. I am optimistic about it. The desire for people to go to the Space even for 5 minutes, to feel the gravity-free environment and to understand the universe we are in is really exciting me… As you know, a short while ago Globalflyer, the first civil spacecraft, actually managed to go out of the atmosphere and to come back. Three or four person trips will start soon. But I want more… I want people to go into Space, to orbit around the world a few times, even to stay there for 24 hours and then come back to where they took off. And I also want people with a low income to be able to do that not only rich people. Only then can we talk about real space tourism. Besides, people are paying taxes to carry out Space Exploration Programs. If they are paying for that, why should they lack this pleasure!

Some people think that spending money for Space Exploration is waste of money, referring to the big problems that humanity faces such as poverty, disease, and poor education…
Trust me; the budget for Space Exploration wouldn’t be enough to wipe out any of these problems. But it is enough to just look at the technologies we use today to see what we gained from these researches.

When is mankind going to step on a new planet, for instance Mars?

Of course when we are ready! First of all, it is necessary to complete the International Space Station and to develop the Space Shuttle Program. I estimate that we can travel to Mars between approximately 2025 and 2030. But unfortunately, I don’t think I will be able to see that. We should go to Mars; we have to do that to create new residential areas apart from the world.

Why? Is there not enough space in the World?

There is only one World. But the World plus somewhere else... it will be different! We should go to Mars and not only go to Mars; furthermore, we should create the conditions for life there. Let’s say the World was destroyed somehow! There will be a place where we can make a new start at least. There is always such a threat. For instance, last year we discovered an asteroid 100 meters in diameter. We estimated that it would hit the World in 2029, but in last autumn, we calculated that it would probably just pass by. There is a possible threat in 2060 as well. If it hits the World, tsunami waves of 60 meters may destroy California’s coastline. Even though it is a small possibility, there is still a threat. So, what shall we do? Shall we just sit and wait?

When people look at the Moon with their loved ones, they usually have thoughts and feelings of romance. What about you? How do you feel?

I bet they remember us alongside the romanticism! What we did was extraordinary and incredible. And whatever they say, it was for the benefit of humanity. Whenever I look at the Moon, I say to my self that ‘I did a great job!’ As most of the people, I could have studied at Harvard, become a lawyer, earned lots of money, and bought yachts. But this is my choice. I felt that I could have been more useful to my country in this way as a pilot, an engineer and an astronaut.

Photos by: Mustafa Kirazlı

09 August 2005, Tuesday, ZAMAN Daily, İstanbul

Ali Çimen

Click here to read the interview on Zaman Daily

Click here to see the interview as newspaper format, part 1

Click here to see the interview as newspaper format, part 2