Aldrin At 83

Today is former astronaut Buzz Aldrin's birthday.  He is 83.  Aldrin flew two space missions.  The first was Gemini 12, the last flight in the Gemini program.  The mission for which he will always be remembered, however, is Apollo 11, during which Aldrin and Neil Armstrong became the first humans on the Moon.

Aldrin, who became an astronaut in 1963, was also one of the fathers of NASA's space rendezvous and docking procedures, which were critical to the success of Apollo.

Since leaving NASA, Aldrin has been a consistent and creative advocate of space settlement.