The second man to walk on the moon presented his choice for the 2024 presidential election.
Buzz Aldrin, 94, who walked on the lunar surface with Neil Armstrong in 1969, endorsed Donald Trump on Wednesday, citing that the United States needs a “tried, serious, proven leader.”
The legendary astronaut wrote in a speech that Trump’s previous term reignited America’s interest in space, pushing for NASA to return the Moon and venture to Mars.
“Over the years, I have watched our government’s approach to space wax and wane, a fluctuating dynamic that has disappointed me from time to time,” Aldrin wrote.
“But under the first Trump administration, I was impressed to see how human space exploration rose and became a major policy issue again.”
Buzz Aldrin, 94, who made history with Neil Armstrong when they both put boots on the lunar surface in 1969, endorsed Donald Trump, citing that America needs a “tried, serious, proven leader for president.”
Trump made a big push into space during his first term, signing an order in 2017 aimed at returning Americans to the Moon and Mars.
The order followed many statements he made about the United States’ role beyond Earth.
“I will free NASA from the constraint of serving primarily as a logistics agency for low-Earth orbit activities — a big deal,” Trump said in 2016.
‘Instead, we will reorient its mission toward space exploration. “Under a Trump administration, Florida and America will lead the way to the stars.”
Aldrin has spent much of his life in the space industry, piloting Gemini 12 in 1966 and crewing the Apollo 11 lunar module.
“I have dedicated my life to the pursuit of scientific understanding, exploration, and an enduring human presence in space,” he said in the speech.
‘The importance of that mission, that calling, runs through every fiber of my being.
Aldrin was present in the Oval Office, next to the former president, when the National Space Council was reinstated after its dissolution in 1993.
Buzz Aldrin was one of three astronauts on the 1969 Apollo 11 mission that landed the first humans on the moon.
‘Over the years, I have watched our government’s approach to space wax and wane, a fluctuating dynamic that has disappointed me from time to time.
“But under the first Trump administration, I was impressed to see how human space exploration rose and became a major policy issue again.”
Trump also reestablished the National Space Council, a body within the Executive Office in charge of space policy and strategy, which was dissolved in 1993.
And Aldrin was present in the Oval Office, next to the former president, when the reactivation of the branch was signed.
“Finally, under President Trump, the nation’s defense was enhanced with the creation of the US Space Force, something increasingly important as space becomes a contested domain,” wrote the former astronaut.
At the same time, I have been excited and excited by the great advances in the private sector space economy, led by visionaries like Elon Musk.
Musk also publicly endorsed Trump, revealing on Wednesday that part of the decision was the former president’s support for space exploration.