10 Questions for Buzz Aldrin - TIME
09/17/2007 03:34 PM
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2007
HOME
U.S.
WORLD
BLOGS
BUSINESS & TECH
HEALTH & SCIENCE
ENTERTAINMENT
10 Questions for Buzz Aldrin
PHOTOS
MAGAZINE
SPECIALS
TOP STORIES
Will Iraq Kick Out Blackwater?
Thursday, Sep. 06, 2007
The Abortion Wars Hit Illinois
How Bush's AG Pick Irritates the Right
ENLARGE PHOTO
Buzz Aldrin
JUSTIN STEPHENS / CORBIS
OUTLINE
MOST POPULAR
The second person to ever set foot on the moon, he's the star of a
Sundance Award—winning film about the Apollo crews. Buzz Aldrin will
Print
now take your questions.
Email
Reprints
MORE 10 QUESTIONS
10 Questions for 50 Cent
He was born Curtis Jackson, but
he made his mark on the rap
world performing under his
childhood nickname. His third
album, Curtis, debuted Sept. 11.
50 Cent will now take your
questions
MOST EMAILED
ARTICLE TOOLS
1. Football's $1,000 Helmet
2. How Bush's AG Pick Irritates the Right
3. Will Iraq Kick Out Blackwater?
4. Coping With a Real-Estate Bust
How well were the Apollo crews
Sphere
5. A New Campaign for Madeleine McCann
portrayed in the documentary In
AddThis
6. A Bush Speech That Could Backfire
the Shadow of the Moon?
RSS
7. Who Killed Madeline McCann?
—Russell Sinclaire, SAN FRANCISCO
It delivers a humanness to what took
place 40 years ago when a few of us were in very enviable
8. Dylan and the Beatles: Together Again!
9. Sex and Scandal at a Prep School
10 . No Surrender in New Hampshire
See Complete List
positions. The astronauts are now 75 or older, so they have
10 Questions for Terrell Owens
No one knows controversy quite
like T.O. But this season the
Dallas Cowboys star swears he
has just one goal in mind: a sixth
Super Bowl title for America's
Team. Terrell Owens will now
take your questions
had a lot of time to reflect and develop a good sense of
10 Questions for Rowan
Atkinson
He has played Lord Blackadder
and Johnny English. But he's still
best known as the oddly likable
buffoon who returns to U.S.
screens Aug. 24 in Mr. Bean's
We went six years without even flying an American in space,
Get This In Your Email
humor about it.
Have we missed out by not going back to the moon
in the past three decades? —David Bland, ADELAIDE,
AUSTRALIA
from 1975 to 1981. That is unforgivable and inconsistent with
a nation that landed six times on the moon. It is all due to the
difficulty of a transition from space travel to space stations to
deeper space explorations. We are going to have void time.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659730,00.html
Page 1 of 3
10 Questions for Buzz Aldrin - TIME
screens Aug. 24 in Mr. Bean's
Holiday. Rowan Atkinson will
now take your questions
09/17/2007 03:34 PM
deeper space explorations. We are going to have void time.
A Condo on The Moon...
It‘s getting hard to find many
Americans who remember where
they were the last time men set
foot on ...
Are you upset about the ad hoc way NASA settled
This Generation‘s Moon Shot
I was a 9-year-old boy in Dublin
when a man first walked on the
moon. It wasn‘t just any man--it
w...
of forced the issue. What NASA did was absolutely correct. It
Punchlines
"There‘s been a myriad of
sporadic cease-fires in the
Middle East over the last 60
years--indeed, ov...
10 Questions for Al Gore
Al Gore‘s reinvention keeps
rolling. His interactive cable
network for young people,
Current TV, is ...
who would be first to step on the moon? —Robert
Newman, DALLAS
I felt we needed a decision to proceed with training, so I sort
Grab it! to put Quotes of the Day on your personal page or blog
would have been unacceptable for the commander to sit up in
the lunar module while his co-pilot made the first historic
step on the moon.
Were you ever worried about conspiracy theorists
who claim the moon landing was fake? —Ben Gray,
PERTH, AUSTRALIA
I was not concerned, but I lost my patience once and socked a
guy, which created great publicity and cost me some legal
fees. You are not going to change the minds of people who
are looking for attention.
Sponsored Links
Why did you leave NASA after returning home from
Cell Phones For Seniors
Bright screens & louder sound.
Large Buttons. Live Operator Help!
www.jitterbug.com
the moon? —Gene McHugh, HOLLYWOOD, MD
It would have been pretty hard to top the moon landing. Neil
Armstrong elected to stay with NASA in aeronautics, and I,
Mortgage Rates at 4.65%
$250,000 loan for $650/month. See
New Payment - No SSN Rqd.
Save Now!
Refinance.LeadSteps.com
Buy a link here
being more of a military person, left to continue my career in
the U.S. Air Force. There were a lot of other people who
wanted to walk on the moon, and we didn't want to be
greedy.
What contributed to the depression and alcoholism you experienced after Apollo
11? —Randy Roach, FATE, TEXAS
Returning to Earth was challenging for me. I was a celebrity on a pedestal, and I had to live up to
that. Like actors and writers who are on and off again in terms of employment, I had a very
unstructured life. So the alcoholism and depression, which I inherited, were ripe to flourish.
Given what happened with Lisa Nowak, should astronauts be held to a higher
standard? —Chad Miller, COLOGNE, GERMANY
Astronauts are not superhuman. They lead ordinary lives and have varied personalities. I think
Nowak should be admired for traveling across the country at night and not getting out of her car
to put in gas or go to the restroom. It is not excusable, but it is understandable for an achiever to
fall into a trap.
Do you believe in the existence of extraterrestrial life? —Daniel Nebro ADDIS ABABA,
ETHIOPIA
I am an evolutionist, and since there is no evidence, I don't know. When I was a little kid we only
knew about our nine planets. Since then, we've downgraded Pluto but have discovered that other
solar systems and stars are common. So life is probably quite prevalent.
Have you ever considered running for political office, as John Glenn did? —Edo
Steinberg, BEERSHEBA, ISRAEL
Yes, but the idea wasn't very attractive. Eighty percent of people thought I was doing the right
thing during the Korean War shooting down MiG-15s, and probably 95% were supportive of the
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659730,00.html
Page 2 of 3
10 Questions for Buzz Aldrin - TIME
09/17/2007 03:34 PM
thing during the Korean War shooting down MiG-15s, and probably 95% were supportive of the
moon landing. Why risk such a career so that only 51% of people will tolerate me and 49% will
want to get rid of me?
Why did you decide to get a face-lift at age 77? —Anna Clark, BLOOMINGTON, IND.
It's kind of funny, but I've been exposed to a lot of G-forces as a fighter pilot and in space. That
caused a sagging jowl that needed some attention.
Read these extra questions. For more from Aldrin and to subscribe to the 10 Questions podcast
on iTunes, go to time.com/10questions
Page 1 of 2
1 | 2 |
Next >>
Sponsored Links
Cell Phones For Seniors
Bright screens & louder sound. Large Buttons. Live Operator Help!
www.jitterbug.com
I Had High Blood Pressure
Now it’s down to 120/75. Find out how I did it without drugs
www.resperate.com
Mortgage Rates at 4.65%
$250,000 loan for $650/month. See New Payment - No SSN Rqd. Save Now!
Refinance.LeadSteps.com
Buy a link here
Related Articles
A Condo on The Moon...
This Generation‘s Moon Shot
Punchlines
10 Questions for Al Gore
more related content »
FEATURES | Click arrows to view more features
More features
Movies
Nation
Life at the Top
Tuned In
On the Trail
Dylan and the Beatles:
Together Again!
Coping With a RealEstate Bust
The Grander Hotel
The Emmys' Highs and
Lows
No Surrender in New
Hampshire
QUICK LINKS:
U.S. | World | Blogs | Business & Tech | Health & Science | Entertainment | Photos | Magazine | Specials | Archive
RSS Feeds
SERVICES:
Subscribe
|
| Get TIME on your Mobile Device
| Podcasts
| Video
| Newsletter
Customer Service | Help | Site Map | Contact Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Media Kit | Reprints & Permissions | Opinion Leaders Panel
EDITIONS:
TIME Domestic | TIME Europe | TIME Asia | TIME South Pacific | TIME For Kids
Copyright © 2007 Time Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1659730,00.html
Page 3 of 3