Potential survival
“The overall benefit of exploring Mars is the potential survival of the human race, having an alternate habitat in the event that something drastic and unforeseen occurs here on earth,” he explains. “This could be the sudden or gradual appearance of a large object on a collision course with earth, or it could be conflicts here among people that threaten the planet’s habitability.”
Aldrin also points out the similarities between earth and Mars that make the Red Planet a feasible destination for humans. A day on Mars is 24 hours and 30 minutes; it has subterranean water and ice at the poles; its gravitational pull is twice that of the moon’s; and it has an atmosphere similar to that on earth at 100,000 feet, making spacesuits simpler and less cumbersome.
Opening space to everyone
These are the benefits that could make establishing a permanent settlement on Mars a reality, but this is just one of many projects in which Aldrin stays immersed every day. For years, he’s developed plans for opening space to everyday people, serving as a leading proponent of adventure space travel.
Aldrin’s 1993 patent for a permanent space station, combined with the availability of NASA’s space shuttle after its retirement in 2010, may very well mean space hotels and habitats that will take tourism into the solar system. He founded the ShareSpace Foundation, in part, for this purpose.
In addition to tourism, Aldrin’s nonprofit organization works to bring together the great minds of space exploration to spread awareness and enthusiasm through media outlets like the Discovery and History Channels. This educational component also extends to motivating young people in grades K–12.
Overcoming addiction
But for Aldrin, these endeavors aren’t mere diversions. They keep him going, and have ever since his recovery from a bout with addiction. “I survived inherited depression and life-threatening alcoholism,” he says. “Now coming up on 29 years of sobriety, I have evolved with increasing confidence, stimulation of imagination, and innovation.”
Aldrin notes that, while he’s a different person now, he had to go through a period of growth and change during his 40s and 50s in response to a difficult transition from a structured military life to one in corporate America. To do this, he stuck with what he knew and focused on the future of space travel.
Pioneering efforts
That seems to be the stamp that’s marked most of Aldrin’s career—a collection of pioneering efforts. He’s a dreamer who works to make realities.
In 1962, President John F. Kennedy asked, “But why, some say, the moon? Why choose this as our goal? And they may well ask, why climb the highest mountain? Why, 35 years ago, fly the Atlantic?”
Aldrin has spent a lifetime answering these questions, and he shows no signs of stopping.