Buzz Aldrin

When I was a boy, some people regarded the statement ‘The sky is the limit’ as a positive affirmation, implying that anything is possible. The truth is, the sky is not the limit. Nowadays we can go much farther, and dream much higher than the sky.

I know the sky is not the limit, because there are footprints on the Moon – and I made some of them! Don’t allow anyone to denigrate or inhibit your lofty aspirations. Your dreams can take you much higher and much farther than anyone ever thought possible. Mine certainly did.

The first time I applied to be an astronaut, NASA turned me down. I was not a test pilot, they said, and at that time, NASA wanted only test pilots. Other people, no matter how bright or talented, need not apply.

Sure, I was disappointed, but I was determined. I thought about space rendezvous; ate, slept and dreamed it so much that I became known to my astronaut peers as ‘Dr. Rendezvous’.

Neil Armstrong, Michael Collins, and I were chosen as the crew for Apollo 11, which would turn out to be a uniquely historic mission. Piloting our powered descent to the Moon’s Sea of Tranquility was the most complicated and critical aspect of the whole mission.

As we descended, we saw that our planned landing site was filled with large boulders surrounding a crater… so we continued, hoping to find a safer area. This unexpected trip extension expended additional fuel, so after travelling 240,000 miles, when we finally touched down on the Moon, we had only 20 seconds of fuel remaining.

When Neil and I got back in the Eagle, we placed our necessary items in garbage bags and tossed them out on the lunar surface. Perhaps future space environmentalists will criticise us for so inconsiderately discarding our ‘trash’, but we dared not take off with one ounce more than planned.

I’ve learned so much about myself since the Eagle whisked me off the lunar surface all those years ago. One thing I have discovered is when you believe that all the things are possible and you are willing to work hard to accomplish your goals, you can achieve what people consider the “impossible” dream.

Abridged excerpt taken from No Dream Is Too High, Lessons From a Man Who Walked on the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin and Ken Abraham. Published by National Geographic