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“We must go to Mars and I know how to do it!” he exclaimed. For what seemed like an eternity, I allowed him to rant, knowing that any interruption might break what fragile cooperation I’d been given to interview the second person to walk on the Moon. The passion Buzz Aldrin had for sending an astronaut to Mars caught me off-guard. As he spelled out in precise detail his plan, piercing blue eyes bore into me, pinning me to my chair inches away from him. If I looked away, I feared he’d grab me by the collar and shake me into submission. He delivered a compelling pitch, but seemed unconcerned with the enormous cost involved to build way stations and supply tons of fuel for the long mission.

We had been invited to his modest condo in Laguna to talk about Star Trek (under the guise of ‘great accomplishments in space history’), but I’d been told Buzz was no big fan of the TV show. As we set up, there was no telling this was the home of a hero, save for a few pieces of memorabilia. I was curious to hear what it was like to walk on the moon, who inspired him, and if shows like Trek inspire others to join the space program. Aldrin was more interested in discussing the faults of the space program than about himself or Star Trek. Eventually, I plucked out a few useful soundbites for my needs. Sadly, the meat of the interview remains on the cutting room floor, regardless of his fascinating insights.

Wally Schirra was the polar opposite of Aldrin. Full of laughter and whimsy, he admired Star Trek and Roddenberry’s clever use of ‘beaming up’ crew members from the planet surface to the Enterprise. I admire Schirra as one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen to boldly go where none had gone before. Wally also provided one of my favorite stories as an interviewer. He told me that when he got the chance to fly to the Moon, he brought along special artifacts to leave behind. Not a flag. Not a plaque. Chicken bones. Yes, Chicken bones. Wally figured if the Russians ever landed on the Moon and ‘discovered’ the bones, they’d be dumbfounded; foolishly thinking life existed before Man arrived. And you thought astronauts didn’t have a sense of humor.