On 21 July 1969, former fighter pilot Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin left his lunar landing craft and became the second person to step on the surface of the Moon. Almost 20 minutes beforehand, his commander, Neil Armstrong, had been the first.
Aldrin’s first words were: “Beautiful view”.
“Isn’t that something?” asked Armstrong.”Magnificent sight out here.”
“Magnificent desolation,” replied Aldrin.
The fact that he was second never sat comfortably with him. His crewmate Michael Collins said Aldrin “resented not being first on the Moon more than he appreciated being second”.
But Aldrin was still proud of his achievement; many years later, when confronted by a man claiming Apollo 11 was an elaborate lie, the 72-year-old Aldrin punched him on the jaw.
And following Neil Armstrong’s death in 2012, Aldrin said: “I know I am joined by many millions of others from around the world in mourning the passing of a true American hero and the best pilot I ever knew.”
Despite struggles in later life, he never lost his thirst for adventure and joined expeditions to both the North and South Poles, the latter at the age of 86.