Buzz Aldrin calls for 'great migration of humankind to Mars' as he praises Trump's plan for moon mission but warns against a new space race
- The time has come to make a giant leap and move to Mars, says the astronaut
- He sees setting up a permanent manned base on the Moon as the next small step
- 'Great migration' of humans to Mars essential as either 'we explore or we expire'
Humanity must make a giant leap in space exploration and begin the process of migrating to Mars, argues Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
The 89-year-old said a 'great migration' is necessary not only for the sake of exploration but for the ongoing survival of the human race.
Aldrin advocated for a spirit of international collaboration, based on the work being undertaken on the International Space Station, with America taking the lead.
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Humanity must make a giant leap in space exploration and begin the process of migrating to Mars, argues Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin (pictured)
Buzz Aldrin, along with fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, landed on the moon almost 50 years ago.
They did this with a mission, Aldrin wrote in an opinion piece in the Connecticut paper Washington Post.
'Apollo 11 aimed to prove America's can-do commitment to space exploration, as well as its national security and technological superiority.'
'We did all that. We also "Came in Peace for all Mankind"'
'More of that is needed now.'
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Mr Aldrin's comments follow from US Vice President Mike Pence's recent announcement that NASA is planning a new manned mission to the moon.
'I am with him, in spirit and aspiration,' said Buzz.
'Having been there, I can say it is high time we returned.'
Buzz Aldrin (pictured, left), along with fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, landed on the moon almost 50 years ago
'Today, many nations have eyes for the moon, from China and Russia to friends in Europe and [the] Middle East. That is all good.'
However, Mr Aldrin proposes that the United States should not only co-operate but also 'offer itself as a willing team leader in exploring every aspect of the moon.'
Such an endeavour, he argues, would extend up to the moon the open and eager spirit of co-operation presently seen surrounding the activities of the International Space Station.
A great migration to Mars is necessary not only for the sake of exploration but for the ongoing survival of the human race, Mr Aldrin argued (stock image)
However, it is the red planet that Mr Aldrin thinks needs to become the long-term focus of NASA's attention.
'Mars is waiting to be discovered,' said Aldrin.
'Not by clever robots and rovers - though I support NASA's unmanned missions - but by living, breathing, walking, talking, caring and daring men and women.'
Buzz said that, for this to actually happen, members of congress, the Trump administration and the American public must all push to make the human exploration of Mars a national priority.
‘To be clear, I do not mean spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a few hijinks or joy rides, allowing those who return to write books, tweet photos and talk of the novelty,’ said Aldrin.
‘I mean something very different.’
Both the US and the wider international community, Aldrin said, 'should focus on opening the door, in our time, to the great migration of humankind to Mars.'
'Books aplenty have been written about how to do this, and they have inspired government and non-government leaders to make lofty plans, he added.
'But plans without a detailed architecture, and without that "next step" into the future, are just fantasy.'
‘To be clear, I do not mean spending billions of taxpayer dollars on a few hijinks or joy rides, allowing those who return to write books, tweet photos and talk of the novelty,’ said Aldrin.
'Americans are good at writing fantasy, and incomparable at making the fantastic a reality. We did it with Mercury, Gemini, Apollo - and in thousands of other ways,' he said.
It is time to work on developing blueprints, architecture and planning for the next step, Aldrin said, which would entail a sustainable international return trip to the moon.
This, he added, will directly chart a path to Mars.
The American public is impatient for space leadership, Buzz argues, which could inspire the executive and legislative branches of the US government to make plans towards landing humans on the red planet.
The next small step in this direction would be to capitalise on early lunar landings, Aldrin said, in order to set up permanent settlements on the moon.
A lunar base could serve as an important refuelling stop and staging area for future manned missions to Mars and beyond.
As mankind works to establish a presence on the moon, plans for permanent migration to the red planet can be made, said Aldrin.
'All of this is within reach for humans alive now.'
'The nation best poised to make it happen is the United States,' he added.
'President John F. Kennedy is remembered for starting our nation's drive to the moon, where Neil and I left footprints,' Aldrin said.
Similarly, he added, 'the Trump administration and this Congress would be remembered decades forward for putting humans permanently on the moon and Americans on Mars.'
Leaving the first human footprints in Mars' red dust would put humanity on the way to making migration to the planet possible.
Actual migratory expeditions from Earth to Mars would be complex, Aldrin says, especially from the point of view of calculating the necessary orbital paths to travel.
However, both human nature and the ultimate survival of our species call for humankind to continue to reach outwards into the universe, said Buzz.
'Put simply: We explore, or we expire. That is why we must get on with it.'
The plaque on the lunar lander (stock image)
'In a world of division and distraction, this mission is unifying — for all Americans and for all humankind,' Aldrin said.
'I am personally glad we are headed back to the moon,' he concluded.
'But my eyes drift higher to the red orb that, even now, awaits an American flag and plaque that reads: "We Come in Peace for All Mankind." '
WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge, 363-foot tall Apollo 11 Spacecraft 107/Lunar Module S/Saturn 506) space vehicle launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 9:32 a.m. (EDT).
Apollo was the NASA programme that launched in 1961 and got man on the moon.
The first four flights tested the equipment for the Apollo Program and six of the other seven flights managed to land on the moon.
The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 8 which circled around it on Christmas Eve in 1968 but did not land.
The crew of Apollo 9 spent ten days orbiting Earth and completed the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo rocket that would later land Neil Armstrong on the Moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first on to land on the moon on 20 July 1969.
The capsule landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, carrying mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins.
Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, 'That's one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.'
Apollo 12 landed later that year on 19 November on the Ocean of Storms, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 hours into flight, an oxygen tank explosion forced the crew to cancel the lunar landing and move into the Aquarius lunar module to return back to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned lunar mission in the Apollo space program, and considered at the time the most successful manned space flight up to that moment because of its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than had been possible on previous missions.
The last Apollo moon landing happened in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts had touched down on the lunar surface.
Astronaut Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin unpacking experiments from the Lunar Module on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Photographed by Neil Armstrong, 20 July 1969
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