Skip to content

featuring historical research, writing, and media at st. mary's university

  • World History

    World History

    Menu
    • World History
    • Pre-Classical History (to 600 BCE)
    • Classical History (600 BCE-600 CE)
    • Post-Classical History (600 CE-1492 CE)
    • Early Modern History (1492-1789)
    • Modern History (1789-1914)
    • Global History (1900-present)

    From the Ancient World

    The Battle of Zama: Rome's Vengeance

    Posted by Davis Nickle12/01/2020

    From the Modern World

    The Holy See Takes On The Fight Against Climate Change

    Posted by Victor Rodriguez11/30/2020

    Regional Histories

    Menu
    • African and African American Studies
    • Latin American Studies
  • US History

    Early America

    Menu
    • US-Three Worlds Meet (to 1620)
    • US-Colonization and Settlement (1585-1763)
    • US-Revolution and the New Nation (1754-1820s)
    • US-Expansion and Reform (1801-1861)
    • US-Civil War & Reconstruction (1850-1877)

    A Charlie Brown Debut: Introduction to the First 'Peanuts' Member of Color

    Posted by Rebeca Escobar04/02/2019

    Live Rattlesnakes and Rock n' Roll: The Story of ZZ Top's "Worldwide Texas Tour"

    Posted by Ricky Moreno10/22/2020

    Fortnite and Video Game Violence

    Posted by Elizabeth Maguire12/08/2019

    The Miracle on the Hudson: The 208 Seconds That Defined Captain "Sully" Sullenberger's Career

    Posted by Emmett Pena11/19/2020

    Elizabeth Taylor the Vixen Savior

    Posted by Micheala Whitfield05/04/2020

    America's Greatest Escape: Alcatraz

    Posted by Shea Slusser11/12/2019

    ROOTS: A Cultural Phenomenon

    Posted by Alicia Guzman05/13/2019

    Quiet Man On the Run: The Story of Frank Abagnale, World-Renound Con-Artist

    Posted by Lilia Seijas11/01/2019

    Rodney Reed :Trapped In the Shadows of Jim Crow

    Posted by Christopher McClinton04/28/2020

    World's Best Boss: Steve Carell and His Journey to Becoming Michael Scott

    Posted by Cristianna Tovar12/10/2019

    Selena Gomez: Her Life Behind the Scenes

    Posted by Judy Reyes12/06/2019

    San Antonio Royalty: The Reign of the Chili Queen

    Posted by Sara Ramirez04/07/2019

    Edward Snowden: The Inside Scoop On The World's Most Infamous Whistleblower

    Posted by Ryan Estes04/04/2019

    Olvidar un Idioma: ¿Es posible?

    Posted by Edith Santos Sevilla11/22/2020

    Hispanophobia: La Discriminación contra las Personas que Hablan Español

    Posted by Cristian Maldonado12/22/2020

    The Hidden War at Home: VA Negligence Increasing Veteran Suicide

    Posted by Madeline Chandler11/03/2020

    Was Ted Bundy a Sociopath or a Psychopath?

    Posted by Maria Cossio11/23/2020

    Mark Zuckerberg: How a CEO went from Anxious to Greatness

    Posted by Alexandria Wicker11/23/2020

    Metallica: The Tragedy Overseas

    Posted by Isaiah Torres05/08/2019

    The Prosecutor Who Took On The Dream Team

    Posted by Ariana Brown11/26/2019

    Feeding Students' Mind and Body: When Education Means Providing Meals

    Posted by Yamel Herrera10/30/2020

    Holly Ordway: Finding Her Way To Christ's Arms

    Posted by Samantha Bonillas11/15/2019

    Private Felix E. Longoria: An Affair, Some Would Rather Not Remember!

    Posted by Lulu Guadalupe Avitua-Uviedo09/20/2020

    Hugs Not Walls: Reunification of Families on the South Border

    Posted by Eliane Castorena05/07/2020

    Cicada 3301 - An Epic Mystery

    Posted by Stephen Talik11/06/2020

    Mendez v. Westminster: Planting the seed for Desegregation

    Posted by Erin Vento11/10/2020

    The Courageous Work of Americo Paredes

    Posted by Anthony Coronado05/06/2020

    Like a Virgin: Madonna's Road to Success

    Posted by Andrea Degollado11/14/2019

    Untold Stories of Mexican-American Lynchings

    Posted by Paul Garza12/09/2019

    The Washington Riots: The Fight that Never Stops

    Posted by Judy Reyes11/14/2019

    Contemporary America

    Menu
    • US-Industrial United States (1870-1900)
    • US-Emergence of Modern America (1890-1930)
    • US-Great Depression & WWII (1929-1945)
    • US-Postwar United States (1945-early 1970s)
    • US-Contemporary United States (1968-present)
  • Themes

    SPICE Categories

    Specialty Categories

    Special Themes

    Menu
    • Social History
    • Political History
    • Environmental History
    • Cultural History
    • Economic History
    Menu
    • Art History
    • Business
    • Crime
    • Gender Studies
    • Human Rights
    • Public Health and Medicine
    • International Relations
    • Linguistics
    Menu
    • Military History
    • Music
    • People
    • Psychology
    • Religion
    • Science & Technology
    • Sports
    Menu
    • Catholic Heritage
    • The Year 1968
    • COVID-19
    • Social Justice
    • Spanish Language
  • Showcase

    Showcase Editions

    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
    Menu
    • Vol 1 – 2016
      • Vol 1 No 1 Aug-Sep 2016
      • Vol 1 No 2 Oct-Nov 2016
    • Vol 2 – 2017
      • Vol 2 No 1 Jan-Feb 2017
      • Vol 2 No 2 Mar-Apr 2017
      • Vol 2 No 3 Aug-Sep 2017
      • Vol 2 No 4 Oct-Nov 2017
    • Vol 3 – 2018
      • Vol 3 No 1 Jan-Feb 2018
      • Vol 3 No 2 Mar-Apr 2018
      • Vol 3 No 3 Aug-Sep 2018
      • Vol 3 No 4 Oct-Nov 2018
    • Vol 4 – 2019
      • Vol 4 No 1 Jan-Feb 2019
      • Vol 4 No 2 Mar-Apr 2019
      • Vol 4 No 3 Aug-Sep 2019
      • Vol 4 No 4 Oct-Nov 2019
    • Vol 5 – 2020
      • Vol 5 No 1 Jan-Feb 2020
      • Vol 5 No 2 Mar-Apr 2020
      • Vol 5 No 3 Aug-Sep 2020
  • About

    Course Readings

    Article Indexes

    About Us

    Menu
    • Course Readings – SC 3300 – Nash
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Wieck
    • Course Readings – PO 4334 – Dr Celine
    • Course Readings _ PO 3365 – Dr Celine
    Menu
    • Course Readings – HS 2321 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – HS 2322 – Whitener
    • Course Readings – SMC 1301 – Whitener
    Menu
    • Our Article/Author Index
    • Award Winning Articles
    Menu
    • Our StMU History Media Project
    • Our Faculty Consultants
    • Our Writers
    • Contact Us
  • Cultural History, Descriptive Article, Environmental History, People, United States History, US-Contemporary United States (1968-present)
  • October 19, 2018

The Second Leap For Mankind: The “Buzz” Aldrin Story

Edwin
Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Apollo 11 Portrait | Courtesy Spaceimages.com
Nathan Alba

Nathan Alba

July 20, 1969—a day that would go down in history, as the first humans went on to set foot on the Moon. With an estimated 530 million people worldwide watching at the time, today’s generation can recall their parents or grandparents describe the chills they felt as Neil Armstrong spoke his famous words.1 People today tend to forget that there was a second man to touch down some fifteen minutes after Armstrong: Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, a man sometimes forgotten simply because he was not the first man on the Moon, on a mission that could have been quite capably another NASA tragedy.  

The Apollo 11 Mission consisted of a crew of three men; Apollo 11 Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin “Buzz” Armstrong.2 On July 16, 1969, the crew prepared to launch from Cape Kennedy in Florida. Aldrin described what he saw, as his colleagues were being strapped into the rocket. He took in the moment and the magnitude of the journey the crew was about to embark on: 

Apollo 11 Liftoff | July 16, 1969 | Courtesy of NASA.gov

“As far as I could see there were people and cars lining the beaches and highways. The surf was just beginning to rise out of an azure-blue ocean. I could see the massiveness of the Saturn V rocket below and the magnificent precision of Apollo above. I savored the wait and marked the minutes in my mind as something I would always want to remember.”3 

At 9:32 a.m. on July 16, 1969, the Saturn V Rocket ignited, launching the crew of Apollo 11 towards the Moon some 238,900 miles away. Aldrin poetically describes his view of Earth from space, “The thought reoccurred that wars are generally fought for territory or are disputes over borders; from space the arbitrary borders established on Earth cannot be seen.”4

On July 20, with the ever growing Moon in sight, the Lunar Module detached from the Command Module. From here on out, Aldrin was the pilot. It was his turn to etch his name in the history of humankind.

While advancing toward the Moon’s surface, the dreaded yellow caution light came on. Being so far away from Earth, yet so close to the surface of the Moon, the astronauts’ only hope was that the malfunction wasn’t critical. “Hearts shot up into throats while we waited to learn what would happen.”5 The crew received another caution warning before being told by their flight commander back in Houston to proceed. Following the first two warnings, Aldrin and Armstrong went on to receive at least three more warnings before being reassured, once again, that the mission was still a go.

July 20, 1969 at 4:17 p.m. — Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin successfully lands Lunar Module Eagle on the surface of the Moon in Mare Tranquillitatis (The Sea of Tranquility). Command Center has been painfully waiting four long days to hear Aldrin radio the words of success: “Houston, Tranquility Base here. The Eagle has landed.”6 

Picture of Earth taken from the Moon | Courtesy of NASA.gov

Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin became the second man to set a pair of footprints on the surface of the Moon some fifteen minutes after his Command Leader Neil Armstrong initially touched down. When asked about the Moon’s scenery, Aldrin described it as “Beautiful, beautiful. Magnificent Desolation.”7 The crew spent the following hours taking samples from the Moon, taking photos, and of course, planting the American Flag on the Moon’s surface. 

Twenty-one hours after landing, it was time to head back to Earth. The Eagle would meet back up with the Command Module Columbia and its pilot Michael Collins in the Moon’s orbit. The crew shared a brief celebratory moment before preparing their return voyage—back towards Earth’s orbit. The crew would return to Earth eight days after launch, landing in the Pacific Ocean on July 24, 1969.8 In a stunning display of American science Buzz Armstrong, along with the rest of the Apollo 11 crew, ultimately ended the Space Race—heeding President John F Kennedy’s 1961 call to put American men on the Moon and safely return them before the decade’s end.

Panoramic photo taken from the Moon | Apollo 11 Mission | Courtesy of Moonpans.com

“And, therefore, as we set sail we ask God’s blessing on the most hazardous and dangerous and greatest adventure on which man has ever embarked.” — John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1962

  1. Sarah Loff, “Apollo 11 Mission Overview,” NASA, April 17, 2015. http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/missions/apollo11.html. ↵
  2. Lawrence W. Baker, Sarah Hermsen, Rob Nagel, Peggi Saari, Space Exploration Reference Library (Detriot; UXL, 2008), 178. ↵
  3. Edgar M. Cortright, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History (Courier Corporation, 2012), 204. ↵
  4. Edgar M. Cortright, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History (Courier Corporation, 2012), 206. ↵
  5. Edgar M. Cortright, Apollo Expeditions to the Moon: The NASA History (Courier Corporation, 2012), 212. ↵
  6. NASA Content Administrator, “July 20, 1969: One Giant Leap For Mankind.” NASA, February 19, 2015, http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/apollo/apollo11.html. ↵
  7. Buzz Aldrin and Wayne Warga, Return to Earth (Open Road Media, 2015), ebook. ↵
  8. Buzz Aldrin and Wayne Warga, Return to Earth (Open Road Media, 2015), ebook. ↵

Tags from the story

  • Apollo 11, Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin, Mission to the Moon

Share this post

Share on facebook
Share on google
Share on twitter
Share on linkedin
Share on pinterest
Share on print
Share on email
Nathan Alba

Nathan Alba

Author Portfolio Page

A Duel That Left No Victor

United States history is filled with dramatic events and time periods correlating to the vast,

Read More »

This Post Has 88 Comments

  1. Avatar
    Ashley Martinez 12 Nov 2019 Reply

    Buzz Aldrin is such a significant figure that is often forgotten or hidden behind Neil Armstrong’s name. I really enjoyed reading about this article because this was such an important moment in our history, the First men on the moon. I loved the content of this article but I specifically appreciated how Buzz Aldrin was highlighted throughout this article for his importance to this historical event and his bravery. I hope that in the future when this story is brought up in our society that Buzz Aldrin receives the credit that he deserves.

  2. Avatar
    Felipe Macias 22 Sep 2019 Reply

    Aldrin’s comment on the boundaries which cannot be seen from space really brings out the importance of perspective. People seem to think certain things are important or critical to one’s being, yet when looking at the same things from a different view, its obvious we are, as a common people, naive of our surroundings. Regardless of if the moon landings are bogus or not, a push for exploration is a great concept.

  3. Avatar
    Roberto Rodriguez 3 Sep 2019 Reply

    I am extremely happy that I found this article, I have heard the name Buzz Aldrin before, but shamefully never knew exactly what he did. I knew he was a famous astronaut and he was a great man/American, but other than that… really didn’t know anything else. This article made me want to do more research on him, it peaked my interest in his amazing background as well as life after the moon landing. Why he isn’t talked about more is really a shame, but I am proud to say that now that I know that he landed the Lunar Module Eagle on the moon I will talk about him and try to put him first, before talking about Neil Armstrong.

  4. Avatar
    Addie Piatz 1 Sep 2019 Reply

    You read about this moment in history class and you watch the videos of it happening but how amazing would it have been to see it in person. Making history with all those people watching, not knowing if you were ever going to make it back. One thing i’ve noticed about the individual who have had the pleasure togo to space always say how peaceful it is. One thing I liked that “Buzz'” said was how we’re always fighting for land and boarders but those cant even be seen from way up there. I thought that was beautiful.

  5. Avatar
    Cassandra Sanchez 1 Sep 2019 Reply

    Buzz Aldrin’s story is underappreciated as he made important contributions to this voyage and helped achieve this great moment in history. I love reading stories where you learn the background of these important events and accomplishments in history because behind every story there is an incredibly talented crew who worked so hard to discover new things and share them with the rest of the world.

  6. Avatar
    Vanessa Sanchez 14 Apr 2019 Reply

    Awesome article I had never heard of this man till today. Its sad to say that even though he was such an impact he isn’t being recognized. Aldrin prove to be such a brave man. Aldrin was the second man on the moon and to see he doesn’t get recognized for it is sad. Thanks to this article that can be changed at least little by little. He deserves for his name to be out there. Awesome story.

  7. Avatar
    Octaviano Huron 10 Mar 2019 Reply

    I love that this article gives credit to a man who was on the same voyage as Neil Armstrong, but yet is not as well known as the latter. Like Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin was a truly brave man as he voyaged through the unknown, unpredictable realm of space. I loved the imagery this article had to offer; they truly capture the essence of the “magnificent desolation” that Aldrin had described. This was a wonderful article that I enjoyed reading.

  8. Avatar
    Nadia Carrasco 5 Mar 2019 Reply

    This article was immediately eye catching for me because I have always wondered why the second man on the moon was never talked about? Reading through the article this question was not quite answered. The article focuses more on Aldrin, and what he contributed to NASA. Overall this was a great read, really had me interested to learn more about Aldrin. Congrats!

Comments navigation

Previous commentPrevious

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

StMU History Media

A Student Organization of St. Mary's University of San Antonio Texas

Sponsors

  • College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, St. Mary's University
  • Department of History, St. Mary's University
  • Department of Political Science, St. Mary's University
  • Center for Catholic Studies, St. Mary's University

Support Services

  • The Learning Assistance Center, St. Mary's University
  • Louis J. Blume Library Services, St. Mary's University
  • STRIVE Career Center, St. Mary's University
  • Academic Technology Services, St. Mary's University

About

  • About Us
  • Our Authors
  • Our Archive
  • Contacts

© All rights reserved

Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest