Group 3 (1963)
Buzz Aldrin
Second human on the Moon and the intellectual architect of orbital rendezvous.
Buzz Aldrin earned an MIT doctorate on orbital rendezvous techniques that became fundamental to spaceflight — colleagues called him ‘Dr. Rendezvous.’ On Gemini 12 he proved spacewalking could be routine with five hours of methodical EVA work.
As lunar module pilot on Apollo 11, Aldrin became the second human on the Moon, describing the landscape as ‘magnificent desolation.’ He has spent the decades since as spaceflight’s most tireless public advocate, pressing for human missions to Mars.