Buzz Aldrin as grand marshal of the Veterans Day Parade on Nov. 11, 2017, in New York City. (Michael Loccisano/Getty Images)
Former astronaut Buzz Aldrin is turning 92 on Thursday.
Throughout his life, Aldrin made impressive achievements in both his education and career.
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Furthermore, Aldrin made remarkable contributions as an astronaut, devising techniques that are still used today.
FILE - In this 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 astronauts from left, Col. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, lunar module pilot; Neil Armstrong, flight commander; and Lt. Michael Collins, command module pilot, stand next to their spacecraft. Collins, who piloted the ship from which Armstrong and Aldrin left to make their historic first steps on the moon in 1969, died Wednesday, April 28, 2021, of cancer, his family said. He was 90. (AP Photo/File) (AP1969)In this July 20, 1969 photo made available by NASA, lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin carries a seismic experiments package in his left hand and the Laser Ranging Retroreflector to the deployment area on the surface of the moon at Tranquility Base. On Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2020, NASA released a set of guidelines for its Artemis moon-landing program, based on the 1967 Outer Space Treaty and other agreements - No fighting and littering. And no trespassing at historic lunar landmarks like Apollo 11s Tranquility Base. (Neil Armstrong/NASA via AP)Dr. Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin, one of the first men to walk on the moon, admiring a Flexjet Challenger 300 cockpit before flying to Huntsville, AL for the Apollo 11 homecoming celebration on Wednesday, July 17, 2019 in Burbank, Calif. (Mark Von Holden/AP Images for Flexjet)1969: Apollo 11 successfully makes the first manned landing on the moon in the Sea of Tranquility. Americans Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to walk on the lunar surface almost seven hours later. (NASA)WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: Buzz Aldrin throws out the ceremonial first pitch prior to Game Three of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)WASHINGTON, DC - OCTOBER 25: Buzz Aldrin throws out a ceremonial pitch prior to Game Three of the 2019 World Series between the Houston Astros and the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on October 25, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) (Getty Images)Astronaut Buzz Aldrin and his manager Christina Korp tour the Operations and Checkout building at the Kennedy Space Center on July 6, 2017. Aldrin recently cut ties with his longtime manager, according to a civil lawsuit filed against her, two of his children and the Buzz Aldrin Foundation in June 7, 2018. (Photo: Emilee Speck/WKMG)Nineteen minutes after Armstrong, Aldrin joins him to be the second man to step foot on the moon. The two collect scientific samples to bring back to Earth. (NASA Archives)Four days after leaving Earth, Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin and Neil Armstrong enter the lunar module, the Eagle to prepare for lunar descent. Here's a look at the Earth rising over the lunar horizon. (NASA Archives)A space-boot print on the moon from astronaut Neil Armstrong or Buzz Aldrin taken on July 20, 1929. (Image: NASA)The Apollo 11 crew -- Neil Armstrong, left, Michael Collins, center, and Buzz Aldrin, right-- poses for a photograph on June 10, 1969 during a walk through egress test. (Image: NASA)The Apollo 11 crew -- Neil Armstrong, front, Michael Collins, center, and Buzz Aldrin, back-- leaves for the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969. (Image: NASA)Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin (left to right) in their Isolation van on-board the recovery ship U.S.S Hornet being greeted by U.S. President Richard M. Nixon on July 24,1969. (Image: Kipp Teague,NASA)New York City welcomes the Apollo 11 crew in a ticker tape parade down Broadway and Park Avenue. Pictured in the lead car, from the right, are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, Michael Collins and Buzz Aldrin. The three astronauts teamed for the first manned lunar landing, on July 20, 1969.
Here are five things to know about Aldrin, according to NASA:
Buzz Aldrin graduated one year early from high school then went on to attend the US Military Academy at West Point, where he graduated third in his class.
Aldrin earned his Doctorate of Science in Astronautics at MIT. He was the first with a doctorate to be selected by NASA into the third group of astronauts.
Aldrin devised space docking and rendezvous techniques that became critical to the success of the Gemini and Apollo programs, and are still used today.
In 1966 on the Gemini 12 orbital mission, Aldrin performed the world’s first successful extravehicular activity (EVA) spacewalk. He set a new EVA record of five and a half hours. During that mission, he also took the first selfie in space.
On July 20, 1969, Aldrin became one of the first two humans to set foot on another world along with Neil Armstrong in the Apollo 11 moonwalk.
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