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Buzz Aldrin urges S. Korea to join forces with US for space travel

September 21, 2015

Buzz Aldrin, former NASA Astronaut and Apollo 11 Pilot, arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington to testify before the Senate subcommittee on Space, Science, and Competitiveness hearing on human exploration goals and commercial space competitiveness. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

SEOUL (Yonhap) — The second person to step on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, on Monday said South Korea needs to join forces with other countries to develop its space program, referring to possible support from the United States.

“America could help countries like South Korea and India (with space exploration) because America does not need to spend money for what they need, such as designing the landers,” the 85-year-old spaceman said at a lecture held by Etnews, a local internet media, at Yonsei University.

South Korea is aiming to launch its lunar orbiter and a moon probe by 2020.

For 2016, 10 billion won (US$8.5 million) has been allocated for the mission.

Underlining a further need for mankind to explore Mars, Aldrin said “many nations should be able to land on the moon for that.”

“America should be able to help China, not compete with, join the ambitious goal for Mars,” Aldrin said.

Throughout the lecture, Aldrin emphasized the importance of cooperation not only on a national level but also on an individual level for advancements in space exploration.

“When people work together, you can sometimes accomplish the impossible. Apollo (mission) could never have happened without the cooperation in efforts of many people working together for a shared goal,” Aldrin said.

Aldrin encouraged over a hundred students studying astronomy that gathered in the auditorium, saying “by dreaming big, you can accomplish impossible things.”

He also expressed special feelings for South Korea as he was a jet fighter pilot during the 1950-53 Korean War.