Buzz Aldrin has a plan to get us to Mars by 2035

The 83-year-old astronaut wants to pursue a plan to put homesteads on the Red Planet.

What a moon shot actually looks like. NASA

Buzz Aldrin is one of just a handful of people on earth with good reason to be unimpressed with the idea of a "moon shot." After all, he's among the privileged few who can say "Meh. Been there, done that."

Aldrin is far more interested in a Mars shot these days.

The second man to step on the moon in 1969 -- right behind the late Neil Armstrong -- is now 83 years old and out with a new book "Mission to Mars," in which he outlines his vision for taking humans to Mars by 2035.

"We have an opportunity for American leadership to go down in history making a commitment that will be remembered for thousands of years. Why would we not take it?" Aldrin recently told Bloomberg.

Aldrin's proposal involves establishing a base for three-person crews on a moon of Mars and then taking humans to the Red Planet from there. He envisions a cooperative effort with other world powers, including China, Russian, and Japan, but with the United States in the lead.

If Aldrin gets his way, which certainly isn't out of the question given some rather bold initiatives of late aimed at Mars, as well as NASA's hope to kidnap an asteroid, we'll be homesteading on Mars just around the time I'm ready to retire. Can't be that much different than Arizona up there, right?

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