We don’t always remember the guy who was second. But Buzz Aldrin’s number 2 was pretty monumental. He was the second person to walk on the moon. As the lunar module pilot on the Apollo 11 mission, Aldrin followed Neil Armstrong onto the moon’s surface.

Being number 2 didn’t stop Aldrin from returning a hero. He has been awarded many citations and accolades, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Legion of Merit, two Distinguished Flying Crosses, and three Air Medals. Space Systems Command Public Affairs

But there is another side to the landing story. “Buzz Aldrin, human being, is the man who fell to Earth with a thud. Six years after he co-starred with his Apollo 11 crewmates in the climax of the Industrial Revolution, ‘Dr. Rendezvous’ was a failed used car salesman with a nervous breakdown just over his shoulder and a battle with the bottle looming over the horizon.” (Jim Ash, Florida Today, July 20, 1989)

“Aldrin coped with…the stress of the world tour, and his subsequent notoriety through drinking and descended into alcoholism, depression, infidelity, and divorce from his first wife, Joan. Aldrin wrote about these struggles in two autobiographical books, Return to Earth and Magnificent Desolation, stating, ‘At first the alcohol soothed the depression, making it at least somewhat bearable. But the situation progressed into depressive-alcoholic binges in which I would withdraw like a hermit into my apartment.’ Other marriages and divorces followed. Aldrin made a slow climb back to sobriety and mental health.”

Once sober, Aldrin continued to be an untiring supporter and advocate of space exploration.

“…he has, since the mid-1980s, served tirelessly on the Board of Governors of National Space Society, a large pro-space organisation. But always, his core ambition has been to push the development of human spaceflight beyond Earth orbit.

“Buzz founded the Human SpaceFlight Institure to seek more collaborative approaches to leaving our planet, and is seeking to create a global alliance of spacefaring nations to facilitate international cooperation in space exploration and development.” (Rod Pyle, Sky at Night Magazine, Dec. 13, 2024)

He told People magazine (July 20, 2024): “Obviously, I think that getting back to the moon is important. But dreams, exploration and discovery, followed by more dreams, exploration and discovery, are at the heart of being human. For our species, for our nation and for the future of humankind, we need to keep daring, engineering and dreaming about reaching further out into the universe. We need to keep exploring.”

What he has in mind specifically is Mars. In an Op-Ed piece published on CNet, Aldrin wrote: “‘Human nature — and potentially the ultimate survival of our species — demands humanity’s continued outward reach into the universe.’

“He’s not talking about ‘clever robots’ or rovers, either. Aldrin said that as much as he appreciates NASA’s work on unmanned missions, it’s time Mars is explored ‘by living, breathing, walking, talking, caring and daring men and women.’”

His commitment to space exploration is the reason Aldrin gave for supporting Trump in last year’s election. He told Mike Wall of space.com (Oct. 30, 2024): “…under the first Trump Administration, I was impressed to see how human space exploration was elevated, made a policy of high importance again,” Aldrin added. “Under President Trump’s first term, America saw a revitalized interest in space. His administration reignited national efforts to get back to the moon, and push on to Mars — programs that continue today.”

Aldrin has demonstrated his own appetite for exploration:

“In 1998 he traveled to the North Pole and, in 2016, Aldrin visited Antarctica, charting his journey on his Twitter account. He developed altitude sickness at 9,000 feet shortly after arriving, however, and he was rushed to a hospital in Christchurch, New Zealand, where he remained for a week suffering from fluid on his lungs, according to Phys.org. Responding well to antibiotics, he recovered and said he didn’t have any regrets. He was the oldest person to travel to the South Pole, after all.” (David Crookes, livescience.com, Dec. 6, 2021)

Aldrin’s later years have not been without some chaos. Apparently there are some conspiracy theorists out there who have suggested that the whole moonwalk thing never happened. Aldrin ran into one of them.

“On September 9, 2002, astronaut Buzz Aldrin—the second human to set foot on the moon—is walking outside a Beverly Hills hotel when a conspiracy theorist starts harassing him and accusing Aldrin of lying about the Apollo 11 moon landing. Incensed, Aldrin punches his heckler in the face.

‘You’re the one who said you walked on the moon when you didn’t,” Bart Sibrel told Aldrin as he walked by his filming crew outside the Luxe Hotel. ‘Calling a kettle black …’

“‘Will you get away from me?’ an irate Aldrin warned the man in the incident caught on video.

“Sibrel responded, ‘You’re a coward and a liar and a … ‘

“Aldrin, then 72, socked Sibrel in the jaw, right when he finished the sentence with ‘thief.’” (history.com, Aug. 23, 2023)

A couple years earlier, Aldrin had some legal issues with his family. In 2017 the South Florida Sun Sentinel reported that “Buzz Aldrin’s son is trying to stop his father from transferring assets in the latest dispute between the Apollo 11 moonwalker and two of his children over whether he is capable of managing his affairs. Andrew Aldrin’s lawyer sent a letter to an associate in Morgan Stanley’s private wealth management division with instructions not to transfer any assets from two financial accounts in the trust, which names the younger Aldrin as trustee. Buzz Aldrin, 89, has tried to terminate the trust and wants the assets distributed to him. Morgan Stanley asked a Florida court last week to decide if it should follow the instructions of Buzz Aldrin or his son.”

Aldrin then sued his children.

“Apollo 11 moonwalker Buzz Aldrin has launched a legal battle against his children and family foundation, accusing them of abusing his trust and finances nearly 50 years after his historical moon landing.

“The 88-year-old Aldrin’s children, in turn, say they fear he is a victim of manipulation by parties seeking to take advantage of his money and reputation.

“In a civil suit filed this month in Brevard County Circuit Court, Aldrin, a Satellite Beach resident, claims his son, daughter and a former manager have misused credit cards, refused to disclose financial information and mismanaged social media accounts and other media obligations.

“Aldrin further says they have slandered him, telling others that he has dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, and have refused to let him marry and undermined romantic relationships.”

It all came to nothing as reported in the Guardian (March 13, 2019)

“A lawyer for Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin said on Wednesday that a legal fight over whether Aldrin is competent to manage his affairs is over.

“Attorney Keith Durkin said Wednesday that two of Aldrin’s adult children have withdrawn their petition seeking guardianship of Aldrin’s affairs, and the former astronaut, the second person to walk on the moon, has dropped his civil lawsuit against his children and former manager.”

Mike Schneider  of the AP (March 13, 2019) got statements from both parties:

“‘This was the most charitable way to manage a difficult situation, as this year, which marks 50 years since we first stepped foot on the moon, is too important to my family, the nation and me,’ said Buzz Aldrin.

“‘We truly appreciate the support we have received from so many and ask, again, for your understanding and respect as we continue to work through this as a family, in a private manner,’ the Aldrin children said.

In 2013, Aldrin celebrated his 93rd birthday by getting married for the fourth time to Anca Faur. He told Today he has “never been happier in my life than now with my time with Anca.” (Francesca Gar, Today, July 20, 2024) Faur is a 66-year-old chemical engineer from Romania who met Aldrin at a work event.

Rod Pyle of Sky at Night Magazine, whose story I cited earlier, met up with Aldrin last December. Here’s what he found: “Buzz Aldrin has not slowed much. He still stands ramrod-straight, speaks with energy and passion, and continues to generate new ideas constantly.”