The discussion took place during the National Aviation Hall of Fame Spirit of Flight Award. Neil Armstrong talked generally about the benefits of setting large future goals, but Buzz Aldrin specifically said that humans should aim next to land on Mars.

It's interesting that NASA hasn't had a clearly defined goal like the Moon landing since that goal came to fruition. The Moon landing forced NASA to quickly develop highly experimental technologies. A similar push to Mars, at least according to Neil Armstrong, would spur additional new technologies and jump-start the future.

So no matter what NASA actually intends to do, it's clear that the men who actually journeyed to the Moon are tired of all this Moon talk. They are taking their official Mars pitch to the president today.

Apollo 11 astronauts look beyond moon, toward Mars [via Physorg]

Talking to the Guardian newspaper on the 40th anniversary of the historic mission, Aldrin said,

People want to know what it felt like... They want us in a few words to generate the enthusiasm that the world had as they contemplated what we were about to do. Well, what it felt like is something that we trained for. We were trying to treat it as calmly as we could and perform to the best of our ability. We tried to repress feelings of exuberance, of disappointment, and be proud and responsible people accomplishing the task that was given to us. That sounds kind of boring. Except that what we did was kind of earth-shaking.

The man who fell to earth [Guardian.co.uk]

A paper posted to the blog of the National Space Society and written by former NASA employees Aldrin, Feng Hsu and Ken Cox, suggests that America's space program has been stalled since the Apollo missions, and needs to find new targets as opposed to the 2004-announced Vision for Space Exploration, which aimed to get people back on the moon.

Instead, they say, NASA should focus on asteroid exploration as a short-term goal en route to missions to Mars and its moons, with consideration to be made for permanent space stations to act as midway service stations for the astronauts. Our own moon, they say, shouldn't be ignored altogether, but any future lunar missions should be part of an international task force allowing other countries to join in our astro-glories.

This paper won't only be available to those bored enough to read it online; a shortened version will be released shortly and sent to President Obama for consideration. Whether he'll decide that the future of space exploration is high enough on his list of priorities to act on it right now, however, is known only to the stars.

Astronaut-authored report says NASA needs new direction [New Scientist]

In 1969, it took just eight days to reach the moon but, as Aldrin notes, getting a manned spacecraft to Mars would take the better part of a year. After all that time and expense, a trip to Mars might not be worthwhile unless the astronauts were there long term:

"That's why you [should] send people there permanently," said Aldrin. "If we are not willing to do that, then I don't think we should just go once and have the expense of doing that and then stop."

He asked: "If we are going to put a few people down there and ensure their appropriate safety, would you then go through all that trouble and then bring them back immediately, after a year, a year and a half?"

Currently, NASA’s Constellation program plans for a manned mission to Mars in 2030. Under the current plan, the crew’s return vehicle would arrive ahead of the actual expedition ship. But NASA is also scheduled to break ground on the lunar outpost in 2019, and there could be a fully operational base on the moon by 2024. If the lunar outpost proves a success, it might make sense for humans to erect similar colonies on Mars, where oxygen and water are more readily available. Of course, the challenge would be finding colonists willing to sacrifice a terrestrial existence in the name of the Martian frontier:

"They need to go there more with the psychology of knowing that you are a pioneering settler and you don't look forward to go back home again after a couple a years," he said.

"At age 30, they are given an opportunity. If they accept, then we train them, at age 35, we send them. At age 65, who knows what advances have taken place. They can retire there, or maybe we can bring them back."

Mars pioneers should stay there permanently, says Buzz Aldrin [Physorg via Universe Today]

Aldrin's appearance at the convention may be entirely mercenary, but for a kind of sad reason, according to a report in the Canadian Press:

Speaking over the line from his office, the Apollo 11 moon walker warned that he couldn't engage in a long conversation because he was busy with various projects: trying to get the U.S. presidential candidates to consider future space strategies, working with his non-profit organization and looking ahead to next year's 40th anniversary of the 1969 lunar landing.

And that's just a snapshot of his agenda.

With such a flurry of activity there also comes a need for funding, hence Aldrin's appearance at Fan Expo where he plans to market memorabilia in order to augment "a retirement pay that was not very high," he said.
"We're not in really a self-sustaining economic posture to be doing all the things that I'm trying to do without augmenting my income in ways that are available," said Aldrin.

Look, I'd be the first to admit that Buzz can be somewhat disagreeable and out there, but the idea that someone who went to the moon is actually getting a shitty pension is just kind of depressing, people. Of course, without an actual figure, we have no idea if it's a genuinely low retirement wage, or whether he's just complaining for the sake of it. After all, a man who's been to the moon may just have a different definition of "high" to everyone else...

Buzz Aldrin markets memorabilia at Fan Expo to boost retirement income [The Canadian Press]

I wish there weren't those reaction shots of the guy making fun of Buzz, though — yeah, the dude is kind of a nut, but he's a visionary nut who isn't entirely off the mark. I'm still down with the Buzz program, though I'd like to establish a socialist orgy camp on the moon instead of giving it to entrepreneurs.

Buzz Aldrin: Take Us to Space [BoingBoingTV]

According to People magazine, Aldrin is "already in talks" with filmmakers about turning his life story into a major motion picture. The movie, he told reporters, wouldn't just focus on his moon mission, but on "the battles he faced after his Apollo flight – and his subsequent love story." Aldrin elaborated on what those battles were:

My experiences post-flight were ones of not being very productive for quite awhile – depression and alcoholism, things like that... I was trying to recover from that and ran into [wife of 20 years, Lois] afterwards.

He even knows who should play Lois... or, rather, Lois does:

Lois likes Reese Witherspoon, because she played a similar part in [Johnny Cash biopic] Walk the Line.

That sound you hear is Witherspoon screaming at her agent that she doesn't want to become typecast as the downtrodden wife of famous bastards, even if they were as awesome as June Carter Cash.

Astronaut Wants Reese Witherspoon as His Wife – On Screen [People]

The one-time lunar explorer claims that the fantasical promises of space-themed science fiction has left consumers of sci-fi media disappointed with the real thing:

I blame the fantastic and unbelievable shows about space flight and rocket ships that are on today… [I]f you start dealing with fantasy and beaming people up and down and traveling seven times the speed of light, you are doing damage. You're not helping. You have young people who have got expectations that are far unrealistic, and you can't possibly live up to the expectations you have created in young people. Why do they get bored with the space program? That's why.

Interestingly enough, in 1996 Aldrin co-authored his own work of science fiction with veteran novelist John Barnes. But Encounter with Tiber seems not to fall prey to the vision of the future Aldrin has so bitterly condemned. Rather, the lead character finds she has so much time on her hands while en route to Alpha Centauri that she churns out several biographies, which make up most of the 600 page tome.

Aldrin Slams SF's Effect On Space [Scifi Wire]