Free Mission to Mars by Buzz Aldrin

space and exemplified the clout of NASA-funded U.S. competition to help plug up the country’s loss of capacity now missing in action with the retirement of the space shuttle.
    The occasion did not go unnoticed by the White House, and they requested my comments. I was glad to oblige, writing:
    This week’s successful launch and delivery of logistics supplies to the International Space Station by a U.S. commercial space company, reminds us that where the entrepreneurial interests of the private sector are aligned with NASA’s mission to explore, America wins. Falcon 9’s maiden flight to ISS—and the other commercial space launches that lie ahead—represent the dawn of a new era in space exploration. Nearly 43 years after we first walked on the moon, we have taken another step in demonstrating continued American leadership in space.
    Joining me with additional thoughts were leaders in the space community, such as my longtime friend Norm Augustine, retired chairman and CEO of Lockheed Martin. “Successes in commercial space transportation are not only important in their own right,” wrote Augustine, “they also free NASA to do that which it does best … namely, push the very frontiers of space and knowledge.”
    Likewise, Bill Nye, CEO of the Planetary Society, drew attention to the event, calling it a huge step and a milestone that enables cheaper, more reliable access to space. “Investments like this, where the private sector and government work together on technical challenges, strengthens our economy by making advanced technology and innovation part of our culture,” Nye said. “With the success of commercial partnerships like this, NASA will have the resources to reach farther and deeper into the cosmos so that we may all further know and appreciate our place in space.”

    SpaceX Dragon cargo craft reaches the International Space Station, October 2012
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    ( Illustration Credit 3.12 )
    My Apollo program colleague astronaut Rusty Schweickart helped round out the fanfare, calling the arrival and docking of the Dragon space capsule at the ISS more than historic. “It is, in fact, the beginning of a new era in space exploration, one in which private industry and individual initiative will begin leading the way in the use of near-space activity,” said Schweickart, echoing my beliefs. “This is not only exciting and momentous, but is fully in keeping with the American character of risk taking and consequent reward. The long-term results of this ‘first’are beyond our ability to see at the beginning of this era, but there is no doubt that it will serve as a huge incentive for young people who now have firm evidence of the value, and opportunity for individual initiative,” he added. “Near-Earth space is now firmly a regular part of the human environment along with the air, water, and land. The future is now, once again, opened to imagination, creativity, and dreams!”
    I applaud all these comments and see the achievement by commercial rocketeer Elon Musk and his SpaceX team as a first step. Others will follow, cultivating new capabilities that drive down costs and further secure a private-sector toehold in low Earth orbit.

    Buzz Aldrin salutes the flag at Tranquillity Base: his proudest moment
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    ( Illustration Credit 3.13 )

CHAPTER FOUR
DREAMS OF MY MOON

    People often ask me to recount my Apollo 11 moonwalking experiences, my reminiscences of being on the moon. When I reflect on that magical, transformative moment in my life, several things jump out at me.
    One thing to keep in mind: President Kennedy said send a man to the moon and bring him back safely—
a
man. We could have satisfied that goal by having a person land on the lunar surface, look out the window, maybe deploy a robot, but not open the hatch to the environment. Instead, we chose to have two astronauts moonwalk because of the buddy system.
    Thanks to that decision, Neil Armstrong and I stood on the shores of an inhospitable, desolate