Moon-walking astronaut Buzz Aldrin has a no-nonsense message for Americans about the future of space exploration and he's not shy in his choice of words.
"Just remember, get your ass to Mars!" Aldrin said in an interview with "The Steve Malzberg Show" on
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Aldrin — who piloted Apollo 11 to a lunar landing in 1969 and was the second man to walk on the Moon following Neil Armstrong — believes it's high time for a journey to the Red Planet and beyond.
"We need a plan, we need commitment, we need an objective, and a date," said Aldrin, who has penned a new book "
No Dream Is Too High: Life Lessons from a Man Who Walked on the Moon," written with Ken Abraham and published by National Geographic.
Aldrin has no favorite in the presidential race so far, but he says he's ready to work with whoever is elected to help get the manned space program back on track.
"I'm trying to keep up with it so that I can be able to work with whoever is up in the White House," the spry, 86-year-old space enthusiast told Steve Malzberg.
"That'll start as soon as the transition team starts to get put together right after the election, but I just may have a few things to say to both the candidates in sort of an equal opportunity way."
In three years, the nation will celebrate the 50 anniversary of the first moon landing and Armstrong's historic words as he set foot on the gray, powdery lunar surface: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
"The next president has a wonderful opportunity to go down in history, two and a half years after taking office, at the Apollo Golden Legacy celebration … It's a wonderful opportunity for the growing public enthusiasm through the approaching golden legacies," Aldrin said.
Aldrin's book chronicles the wisdom, guiding principles, and irreverent anecdotes he's gathered through his life in space and on earth. And he provides practical advice for the next generation.
"You accept things that come your way, do the best to serve your higher calling. In my case, it was serving my country. I took an oath to do that when I was 17 years old. I pretty much have been driven by that," Aldrin said.
"People have made something about [the saying] ‘failure is not an option.' What that meant is that the flight director in Houston for Apollo 13 did not want his mission control people to do anything wrong.
"He didn't want them to fail … the crew that was out there in space in Apollo 13 and bringing them back. But people need to know that things will go wrong. Murphy's Law. Something will go wrong, it will, you know? You have to deal with that and it will always be to your benefit if you're well prepared."
That preparation for possible failure went all the way up to the White House as Apollo 13 encountered technical issues that came close to dooming its crew.
"William Sapphire prepared a speech for President [Richard] Nixon in the event that we wouldn't come back and that's perfectly correct as what a staff person should do for a leader," Aldrin said.
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