Buzz Aldrin of the Day: One Small Step for a Man Trying to Move to Mars by 2039

Buzz Aldrin, second man on the moon, has not been quiet about his desire to colonize Mars.

He has talked about it every chance he gets and pretty much only wears the one t-shirt.



Well, he has taken up with the Florida Institute of Technology to make colonization a reality. He signed off with the school on a 'master plan' Aug. 27, which he and the institute hope will provide a clear pathway for the country to get their asses to the red planet sometime in the next few decades.

According to The Guardian:

The 85-year-old Aldrin, who followed Neil Armstrong onto the moon's surface on 20 July 1969, will serve as a research professor of aeronautics as well as a senior faculty adviser for the institute.

He said he hopes his "master plan" is accepted by NASA and the country, with international input. NASA already is working on the spacecraft and rockets to get astronauts to Mars by the mid-2030s.

Aldrin is pushing for a Mars settlement by approximately 2040. More specifically, he's shooting for 2039, the 70th anniversary of his own Apollo 11 moon landing, although he admits the schedule is "adjustable".

One thing's for sure, he's definitely done with that crummy old moon.