Apollo 11 pilot astronaut Buzz Aldrin, who visited the moon, responded to the landing of the American Perseverance rover by congratulating the staff of the US National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). Fox News reports.
The 91-year-old New Jersey native, who went down in history as the second person to visit the moon after Neil Armstrong during the Apollo 11 mission in July 1969, has long been a supporter of the US space program to explore Mars. “I think this is a great tribute to all NASA staff, led by Jim Bridenstine and all the other people, especially in the control room at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL),” he said.
The astronaut admitted that 10-20 years ago he voiced a forecast according to which people will be able to be on the Red Planet as early as 2030-2033. He noted that not everyone agrees with him – some think it is too early.
American rover Perseverance successfully landed on Mars on 19 February. With the help of it, NASA specialists expect to find traces of the existence of life on Mars in the distant past.
US President Joe Biden has previously congratulated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration specialists on the successful landing of Perseverance.