Montclair's own Buzz Aldrin explains how the United States ended up putting a man on the moon.
By Paul Brubaker | The Backgrounder
President John F. Kennedy, who challenged the nation to put a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth before the end of the 1960s, originally wanted to put a man on Mars, said Buzz Aldrin, who walked the moon during Apollo 11.
"The Bay of Pigs (invasion of Cuba) had not gone very well, so in April of '61 he went to NASA and said, 'I think we should plan on going to Mars,'" said Aldrin on the latest edition of The Backgrounder Podcast. "The guys at NASA, their jaws dropped."
Astronaut Buzz Aldrin visited his childhood home in Montclair this past October. (Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com) At that point, NASA lagged the Soviets in the space race. The Soviets already had successfully launched the Sputnik satellite and put a dog named Laika in orbit. Aldrin said he was attending a special event at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology when he learned about the early exchange between JFK and NASA officials.
Long before Aldrin took his first steps on the moon, he took his first steps on Earth in Montclair where he grew up. On September 16, he will return to Montclair for the dedication of a middle school that will be renamed in his honor.
To hear Aldrin explain how JFK came to set his sights on the moon, and some of Aldrin's memories of living in Montclair, simply click on the orange button on the top of this page.
Paul Brubaker, former journalist and congressional spokesman, keeps it real with the people who make New Jersey the most fascinating place on Earth. Check back every week for a new episode of 'The Backgrounder.'