Aldrin is a tiny impact crater located on the southern part of the Mare Tranquillitatis, to the east of Sabine crater. It is located about 50 kilometers to the northwest of the Apollo 11 landing site. Aldrin is the western-most of a row of three craters named in honor of the Apollo 11 crew members. About 30 kilometers to the east is the landing site of the Surveyor 5 lunar probe.
This crater was previously identified as 'Sabine B' before being named by the IAU.
Aldrin was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant and served as a jet fighter pilot in the U.S. Air Force during the Korean War, where he flew 66 combat missions in F-86 Sabres and shot down two Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 aircraft.
Aldrin has had a much more public persona than Neil Armstrong, and much has been said about his desire at the time to be the first astronaut out of the Lunar Module, and therefore the first to walk on the moon.
Aldrin is a descendent of flsmiths from Värmland, Sweden.
In 1996, Aldrin descended to the wreck of the RMS Titanic on the INFRAER submersible.
On November 9th, Aldrin was reunited with the Gemini 12 space capsule along with crew member Jim Lovell for the opening of the "Shoot for the Moon" exhibit at the Adler Planetarium.
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