“Exploring and colonizing Mars can bring us new scientific understanding of climate change, of how planet-wide processes can make a warm and wet world into a barren landscape. By exploring and understanding Mars, we may gain key insights into the past and future of our own world.”

American former astronaut, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot

Buzz Aldrin is an American former astronaut, aeronautical engineer, and fighter pilot. He is known for being the second person to walk on the Moon, following mission commander Neil Armstrong. Aldrin served as the pilot of NASA’s Gemini 12 mission in 1966, during which he made three spacewalks. He later flew as the Lunar Module Eagle pilot on Apollo 11 in 1969. He is now the last surviving member of that crew and the oldest living astronaut.