Montclair’s Buzz Aldrin: 1st Man To Pee On Moon, Take Selfie In Space

MONTCLAIR, NJ — It’s easy to make one giant leap for mankind… but how about taking a giant whizz?

You already know that Montclair native Buzz Aldrin – along with fellow astronaut Neil Armstrong – were the first humans to set foot on the surface of the Earth’s moon. But the rock and roll scientist has some other interesting world records, according to the Guinness World Records staff.

As part of their 2017 edition, Guinness World Records is including an exclusive foreward from Aldrin, who also holds the records for the first person to urinate on the moon and take a selfie photo in open space.

According to Guinness, Alrdrin’s record-setting selfie took place in 1966 during the Gemini 12 mission.

“I just opened the hatch and looked around,” Aldrin recalled. “Just like a sightseeing tourist would. I saw the camera and thought, ‘I wonder what would happen if I took a picture of me’, not knowing whether it would turn out at all! The lighting was not too well-selected, but you could tell who it was.”

Aldrin’s record-setting bladder movement came three years later during the Apollo 11 mission in front of millions of TV viewers when the astronaut relieved himself a tube fitted inside his space suit.

His official Guinness World Record certificate for the feat reads:

“The first person to urinate on the moon was Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Alrdin (USA), who relieved himself into a collection device within his space suit as he descended the ladder of the Eagle lunar module on 20 July 1969.”

SOUTH POLE EVACUATION

Last month, Aldrin was medically evacuated from the South Pole after his medical condition deteriorated in a possible case of altitude sickness, he reported.

Aldrin, 86, was taken by helicopter from a scientific research station at the South Pole to McMurdo Station on Antarctica's coast, said a release from the National Science Foundation, which provided the flight. Aldrin landed in Christchurch, New Zealand, at about 4:25 a.m. local time on Friday, Dec. 2.

Aldrin was visiting the South Pole as part of a tourist group through the luxury travel company White Desert. A statement from White Desert said Aldrin's "condition deteriorated," and he was evacuated as a precaution.

• See related article: Buzz Aldrin Medically Evacuated From South Pole

“I started to feel a bit short of breath so the staff decided to check my vitals,” Aldrin said, recalling his experience. “After some examination, they noticed congestion in my lungs and that my oxygen levels were low which indicated symptoms of altitude sickness. This prompted them to get me out on the next flight to McMurdo and once I was at sea level I began to feel much better.”

JERSEY PRIDE

Aldrin’s New Jersey roots have been a continual source of pride and inspiration in his hometown of Montclair.

In 2013, Montclair officials handed its first-ever key to the city to the Montclair High School alum (class of 1947).

Aldrin, born at Mountainside Hospital in Glen Ridge, was a high school pole vaulter and was part of the undefeated, state champion Mounties football team during his senior year. Rather than go straight to MIT on a scholarship, he enrolled in the U.S. Military Academy at West Point and served in the U.S. Air Force as a jet fighter pilot in the Korean War. He later studied at MIT and joined NASA in 1963 as part of President John F. Kennedy's challenge to put Americans on the moon before the end of the decade.

• See related article: Buzz Aldrin Receives First Key to Montclair

In October, the Montclair Board of Education officially renamed Mount Hebron Middle School to “Buzz Aldrin Middle School.”

Aldrin had this to say about his old alma mater:

“That was the turning point where I focused my dedication to education... That middle school would be most revered in my retrospect of my youth.”

• See related article: Montclair's Mount Hebron School Renamed For Astronaut Buzz Aldrin
• See related article: NJ Hall of Fame Inducts Montclair's Buzz Aldrin

Photo: YouTube screenshot, Guinness World Records

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