Not yet ready to rest on his laurels, Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, now has his eyes on Mars.
A dedicated advocate of bringing human civilization on the Red Planet, the legendary lunar astronaut has written and spoken extensively about the future of space exploration and has even done compelling work with Senior Spacecraft students at Purdue University, dubbed Project Aldrin-Purdue.
"If we persevere on this pathway, we can reach Mars itself before 2035-66 years after Neil Armstrong and I flew the quarter-million miles through the blackness of space to touch down onto Tranquility Base, which was 66 years after the Wright Brothers' first flight. But, to realize the dream of humans on Mars we need a unified vision. We need to focus on a pathway to the prize," Aldrin wrote on his website.
Buzz Aldrin: Cycling Pathways To Mars
Giving the world a preview of his plan to successfully land humans on Mars by 2035, the former Apollo 11 astronaut has launched Cycling Pathways to Mars at the SXSW Conference 2017. It's the world's first holographic 'archival VR' project from LIFE VR, TIME, and 8i.
Made it to Austin for #SXSW and I ran into #HoloBuzz from @8iReality telling me to #GYATM. Boy is he bossy! pic.twitter.com/R7opEyjApR
— Buzz Aldrin (@TheRealBuzz) March 13, 2017
"They'll spend some time on the lunar surface to see what that loneliness and crew interactions are. But when they come back, the national program hopefully will not be to just to visit Mars, not just to keep it occupied, but to settle Mars," the 80-year-old American explorer, shared.
Watch its trailer below in the LIFE VR app for iOS and Android devices. The VR experience itself is available on Steam and Viveport for HTC Vive users, and soon in Oculus Rift.
Buzz Aldrin Tells White House Of His Plan
Last Friday, March 10, Aldrin met with Vice President Mike Pence at the White House in Washington, D.C.
Fun to host a true American explorer, Buzz Aldrin, at the @WhiteHouse as we work to shape the space policy of our administration. pic.twitter.com/22tFtQknUp — Vice President Pence (@VP) March 10, 2017
As of late, the Trump administration has not announced any official policies when it comes to space. But talks of bringing back the previously abolished National Space Council (NSC) have been heard of during the U.S. election period. As tradition dictates, Vice President Pence will assume the role of NSC chairperson should it be re-established.
During his controversial inauguration back earlier this year, POTUS Donald Trump was quoted saying in his speech that Americans are "ready to unlock the mysteries of space."
