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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) – Former NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin was noticeably absent from a gala kicking off a yearlong celebration of the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing, even though his nonprofit space education foundation is a sponsor and he typically is the star attraction. [19659002NoexplanationforAldrin'sabsencefromtheApolloCelebrationGalaonSaturdayeveningButtotrainastronautislockedinalegalbattleTheblack-tieeventheldunderaSaturnVrocketattheKennedySpaceCenterfeaturedinapaneldiscussionbyastronautsanawardsceremonyandanauctionofspacememorabilia
Hundreds of people attended the sold-out event, including British physicist Brian Cox, who presented Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson with the ShareSpace Foundation's Innovation award.
Branson, whose company is developing a new generation of commercial spacecraft, said in a recorded video that the Apollo missions influenced his generation. [19659005] "Space is still hard, it's still really matters," Branson said. "There would be no Virgin Galactic, No Virgin Orbit and No Spaceship Company had it been for Apollo astronauts and the thousands of talented people who made their mission possible."
Dr. Carolyn Williams of the Nonprofit From One Hand To AnOTHER received the Foundation's Education Award, and Johnson Space Center Director Gerry Griffin, a flight director for all of the Apollo missions crew, was honored with the Pioneer award.
"It's very humbling , it kind of came out of the blue, "Griffin said. "
That next step, Griffin said, is a return of Americans to the Moon and, eventually, Mars – something to form Apollo astronauts Walt Cunningham, Harrison Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart and Tom Stafford discussed during a conversation with Cox.
"We're going to go through a second door here. "Schweickart, who flew to the lunar module pilot on Apollo 9, told The Associated Press. "Space is going to be more important to go to, and it's going to be more than just opportunities for people," done before. "
Aldrin's ShareSpace Foundation is one of the sponsors of the annual gala, which raises money for Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics – or STEAM education – and Astronaut Scholarship Foundation scholarships.
Renowned Brazilian pop artist Romero Britto donated artwork from his "Buzz Aldrin Space Series" for the auction, which also included a behind-the-scenes tour of Virgin Galactic in California and autographed space memorabilia. Tickets for the event ranged from $ 750 to $ 2,500 per person.
The astronaut's training is expected to come to life just a month after he is a business manager, accusing them of misusing his credit cards, transferring money from an account and slandering him by saying he has dementia. Only weeks before the lawsuit, Andrew and Jan Aldrin filed a petition claiming their 88-year-old father was suffering from memory loss, delusions, paranoia and confusion.
Andrew and Jan Aldrin, Christina Korp, are on the foundation's board and attended the gala. Aldrin's oldest son, James, is not involved in the legal fight.
Andrew Aldrin acknowledged his father's absence during the gala.
"We're sorry dad can not be here, I know some of you are disappointed , "Aldrin said. "Ultimately, what we're about creating the first generation of Martians."
Buzz Aldrin, along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins, was part of the Apollo 11 mission which landed the first two humans on the moon on July 20 , 1969.
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Follow Alex Sanz at https://twitter.com/AlexSanz and Mike Schneider at https://twitter.com/MikeSchneiderAP
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