Astronaut Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, will receive an honorary promotion to brigadier general on Friday from the commander of Space Systems Command and tells Newsmax: "I've always admired the stars, and now I need to get one on each shoulder."
Aldrin, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel and the first astronaut who held a doctorate, recently married on his 93rd birthday.
Appearing Thursday on "The Record With Greta Van Susteren," Aldrin admitted his trip to the moon with fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins was scary, but he downplayed the danger.
"You have to ride the automobile, get out to the launch pad, and then you've got to go up the elevator. And those are pretty hazardous things. And then you walk across this elevator tower. You've got to walk over to the spacecraft, and I tell you that's the most hazardous part of the mission."
But he told Van Susteren that walking on the moon was "pretty soft and rather cushiony," thanks to NASA's well-made boots. "I think it's the feet," he said. "You feel that springiness of the lunar surface. ... and certainly you could jump and you could fall over."
Aldrin has been an active cheerleader in getting people back to the moon and eventually to Mars.
"I think we need to put a human being on the surface of Mars," he said. "Have them, jog around a little bit. And then at the right time, bring him back."
That could be made much easier by building up groups of people on the moon, he said. "Enough to fill an igloo or some container. And, yeah, I think we should occupy the moon.
"Ah! But it's nice," he added, "once you get up there to be able to come back home every so often."
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