[equaviator]

I have a lot of different astronauts on my list of who I think are the greatest but Buzz Aldrin is my all-time favorite.

[Alberta's Child]

The author raises some good points, but I don't think his underlying theme is valid. Doing something just for the sake of demonstrating that "we're the best" or "we are different" is a complete waste of time and resources. In fact, you might also say that it's symptomatic of a culture in decline.

Space exploration is great, but it has to be done with an eye toward a practical objective. We didn't stop sending men to the moon because we lost our resolve. We stopped sending men to the moon because it no longer served any real purpose to do it.

[kristinn]

Basic fact check fail by the author. Only twelve men have walked on the moon.

In total twelve people have walked on the Moon. Besides Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin – who were the first two astronauts to leave their bootprints on the Moon — there were also Pete Conrad, Alan Bean, Alan Shepard, Edgar Mitchell, David Scott, James Irwin, John Young, Charles Duke, Eugene Cernan, and Harrison Schmitt.

Details at the source link.

[Cementjungle]

Buzz looks great for 86, and he's constantly traveling around trying to promote space travel and science in general. He seems to have a good sense of humor too... it's fun watching him on Twitter:

[xp38]

The writer has his numbers in error. 6 missions landed on the moon (Apollos 11,12,14,15,16,17) for a total of 12 who walked on the moon not 16. 27 went to the moon in 9 Apollo missions (8, 10 and 13 didn’t land) not 24.

[truth_seeker]

Aldrin is a recovered alcoholic. Also bipolar.

Cut him a little slack.