Buzz Aldrin lays out plan for Mars colonization in talk at CU-Boulder

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin addresses the crowd at Macky Auditorium on Tuesday evening during his presentation, "A Unified Space Vision." (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Just like President John F. Kennedy challenged America to land on the moon before the end of the 1960s, so too can some new leader inspire the future of space exploration on Mars, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin believes.

Aldrin, 85, spoke before a packed house Tuesday at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus.

"America must be the world leader in human space flight," he said. "There is no other area that clearly demonstrates American innovation and enterprise than human space flight."

Aldrin made history with Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when the two men became the first humans to step foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. In total, they spent 21 hours on the lunar surface gathering 46 pounds of moon rocks. Some 600 million people watched the historic scene on television.

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin told the crowd at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado campus that he would like a permanent residence on Mars by 2040. (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Though Aldrin isn't a CU-Boulder alumhe went to West Point and MIT the campus has ties to 18 astronauts and a long history of space research and exploration. CU-Boulder is the No. 1 NASA-funded public university with nearly $500 million in sponsored research awards, and is leading the space agency's MAVEN mission to Mars.

Aldrin's visit was organized by the Distinguished Speakers Board, a student-fee funded group that's brought Bill Nye, B.B. King, Soledad O'Brien, Madeleine Albright and other influential people to campus.

In a speech that was humorous, but also deeply technical, Aldrin outlined his "unified space vision" for American explorationand the colonizationof Mars.

He's hoping to draw on lunar landing nostalgia to get the world, especially young people, excited again about traveling into the great unknown, he said.

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Buzz Aldrin lays out plan for Mars colonization in talk at CU-Boulder