Apollo 11 Mission: Gala opens the countdown to the 50th anniversary of the landing on the first moon

Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin was remarkably absent at a 50th anniversary gala marking the first landing on the Moon, even though his non-profit space education foundation is a sponsor and he is usually the star attraction.

The Apollo Black Tie Celebration Gala held under a Saturn V rocket at the Kennedy Space Center on Saturday night featured a group discussion by astronauts, an awards ceremony, and an auction of space memorabilia.

Hundreds of people attended the sold-out event, including British physicist Brian Cox, who presented Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson with the Innovation Award from the ShareSpace Foundation.

Branson, whose company is developing a new generation of commercial spacecraft, said in a recorded video that the Apollo missions have influenced his generation.

"The space is still hard, very hard, it really matters," Branson said. "There would be no Virgin Galactic, no Virgin Orbit and no company of spaceships without the Apollo astronauts and the thousands of talented people who made their mission possible."

Dr. Carolyn Williams of the One From Hand Association at AnOTHER received the Foundation's Education Award, and former Johnson Space Center Director, Gerry Griffin, flight director for all Apollo crewed missions, received the Pioneer price.

"It's very humiliating, it's out of nowhere," Griffin said. "It's so good to know that we pbaded the torch that will allow the next generation to take us to the next stage."
The next step, says Griffin, is a return of the Americans to the Moon and, ultimately, to Mars – something of former Apollo astronauts, Walt Cunningham, Harrison Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart and Tom Stafford discussed during the meeting. A conversation with Cox.

"We sort of pbad by a second door here, the door is not completely open – we have not crossed it yet – but it's open," said Schweickart, who flew as lunar. Module driver on Apollo 9, told the Associated Press. "The space will be much cheaper, and this will not only open up people the opportunity to fly, but also because of the reduced cost, real opportunities for innovators to generate new ideas and make new ideas." things that have never been done before. "

Aldrin's ShareSpace Foundation is one of the sponsors of the annual gala, which raises funds for scholarships in science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics – or STEAM education – and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation.

Famous Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto donated his "Buzz Aldrin Space Series" for the auction, which included a behind-the-scenes tour of Virgin Galactic California and autographed space memorabilia. Tickets for the event ranged from $ 750 to $ 2,500 per person.

The anticipated absence of the former astronaut comes just a month after he sued two of his adult children and a former corporate director, accusing them of abusing credit cards, transfer money to an account and slander it. A few weeks before the trial, Andrew and Jan Aldrin filed a petition claiming that their 88-year-old father was suffering from memory loss, delusion, paranoia and confusion.

Andrew and Jan Aldrin, as well as the director of business, Christina Korp, are on the board of directors of the foundation and attended the gala. The eldest son of Aldrin, James, is not involved in the legal fight.

Andrew Aldrin acknowledged the absence of his father during the gala.

"We are sorry that dad can not be here, I know some of you are disappointed," said Aldrin. "In the end, what we are doing is creating the first generation of Martians."

Buzz Aldrin, along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, was part of the Apollo 11 mission that landed the first two humans on the moon on July 20, 1969.