“Bringing an asteroid back to Earth? What's that have to do with space exploration? If we were moving outward from there, and an asteroid is a good stopping point, then fine. But now it's turned into a whole planetary defense exercise at the cost of our outward exploration.”

American astronaut and engineer of the Apollo era, Buzz Aldrin is best known as the second person to walk on the Moon during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969. His career spans pioneering spaceflight, engineering, and advocacy for space exploration, as well as later work as an author and public speaker on science and human achievement.