Famed astronaut and second man on the moon Buzz Aldrin told British radio station 96.4 The Eagle what he thought should happen to the first man on Mars: he shouldn’t come back.
Aldrin told the radio station he thinks the first person on the red planet should work to build the foundation of a colony on the planet. Private company Mars One plans on having an unmanned mission to Mars by 2018 with manned missions as early as 2024.
“I have considered whether a landing on Mars could be done by the private sector,” Aldrin told the radio station. “It conflicts with my very strong idea, concept, conviction, that the first human beings to land on Mars should not come back to Earth. They should be the beginning of a build-up of a colony or settlement. I call it a permanence.”
Aldrin said contrary to popular belief, he didn’t think the mission would be suicide.
“To have an individual company, no matter how smart, send people to Mars and bring them back, it is very, very expensive,” he said. “It delays the obtaining of permanence.”
Outside of being an awesome astronaut and recovering alcoholic, Aldrin also punches moon-landing deniers in the face.
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