Rebecca Roberts: Recently I had the chance to sit down and talk with astronaut Buzz Aldrin, one of the first two men to walk on the moon in the Apollo XI mission in 1969.
He is currently promoting space tourism to help regular folks share the experience he had.
I'm joined by Apollo XI astronaut Buzz Aldrin.
Welcome to "Springboard"
Buzz Aldrin: Nice to be here with you!
Rebecca Roberts: You are one of the few people who can say you have had the opportunity to walk on the moon.
Do you foresee a time when the average citizen would be able to share that experience?
Buzz Aldrin: Not in the near future.
It takes a lot to not just to go to the moon but to not be on a free return trajectory to get into orbit around the moon and make the landing.
I do see a time in the not too distant future when, of course, we will have hotels, resorts, habitats maybe crude but large volumes in lower earth orbit maybe two or three of them close together in a cluster where adventure travelers will go.
Now, the next step beyond that is to put one of those habitats on a continuous cycling orbit between earth and the moon.
It actually goes out three times a month.
One time of the three times the moon is there and it circles around in a figure 8. The next two times it goes out about 10 days and comes back.
That's sort of a thing would be a continuous operation and it's probably worth twice the room rate of a low earth orbit hotel for one week.
Rebecca Roberts: What has to happen to make that a reality?
Buzz Aldrin: I think I have to be successful in convincing NASA and other visionary thinkers that our space program is significantly enhanced by government stimulation of the adventure travel industry in extending it above the surface of the earth because the consequences are so tremendous in our access to lower earth orbit and beyond in space.
Rebecca Roberts: Describe for me what it's like to be in space and why you think citizen explorers should get to share that experience.
Buzz Aldrin: Well, I say there may be three things.
One is the experience that you can't have here which is the unaccelerated or weightlessness environment.
It's unique.
It is intriguing, it is an experience that you can remember for the rest of your life.
That's one thing.
Many things you can do with that, you can bounce off the wall and play games with it.
You just have that freedom.
Of movement.
Now, the second thing is that you can look down on the earth from a great vantage point and take wonderful pictures and, again, personally experience being there.
Now, the third thing is when you come back, you're the envy of all your neighbors and --
[laughter]
-- people at the cocktail party, so you are a very popular person.
[laughter]
Rebecca Roberts: You walked on the moon over 30 years ago now.
Buzz Aldrin: Yes.
Rebecca Roberts: Given there is a whole generation of kids who don't remember the moonwalk, how will you inspire them to care about space and see an exploration of space as a goal?
Buzz Aldrin: We'll have great hope that one day in 10, 15 years, they may have the opportunity to experience the things that few of us citizens have been so fortunate to do, to get into space and even fewer number to be able to journey to the moon.
Rebecca Roberts: Do you think [inaudible]
Is a realistic estimate?
Buzz Aldrin: I think we need to replace the shuttle system with a crew-only access to the space station and maybe 9 or 10 years and follow that with a full replacement of the shuttle system in the two-staged orbit.
With something that can do the NASA missions of crew and a small amount of cargo but has a spin-off, a civil version that can take 60 to 80 passengers into space.
And you can't do this and make a profit if you do it just once a month or once a week.
You have to do it in a very high-flight rate.
And this is gonna be expensive.
Uhm, so we have to broaden the opportunities and lotteries are a very neat way of doing this, where one can make a very small investment and perhaps an ongoing investment.
Rebecca Roberts: A lottery for the opportunity to ride on a shuttle?
Buzz Aldrin: Yes. Initially, when we only have two or three seats a year in the present space shuttle we can do this with game shows or company sponsored people that go through 4 to 6 weeks training.
Rebecca Roberts: Instead of who wants to be a millionaire you'd have who wants to be an astronaut?
Buzz Aldrin: Exactly.
Just like that.
That's the origin of my non-profit company share space.
From sharing space by purchasing a share in the opportunity to fly in space.
Rebecca Roberts: Well, we're looking forward to it.
Dr. Aldrin, thank you very much.
Buzz Aldrin: And we're looking forward to establishing a new space generation of young people!.
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