NASA launches a year of moon landing celebration, but Buzz Aldrin is lacking in the midst of a controversy

The former NASA astronaut, Buzz Aldrin, was remarkably absent at a 50th anniversary gala marking the first landing on the Moon, even though his non-purpose space education foundation profit is the sponsor. 19659002] Aldrin says that he did not attend the Saturday Apollo Celebration Gala because of objections to the current goals of the foundation and the ongoing legal issues badociated with the foundation.

The former astronaut is locked in a legal battle with family members of mental decline. The black tie event, held under a Saturn V rocket at the Kennedy Space Center, 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 to Richard Branson, founder of Virgin Galactic , the Innovation Award from the ShareSpace Foundation

Branson, whose company is developing a new generation of commercial spacecraft, said in a video that the Apollo missions have influenced its generation. still hard, really hard. It still really matters, "said Branson. "There would be no Virgin Galactic, no Virgin Orbit and no spaceship company without the Apollo astronauts and the thousands of talented people who made their mission possible."

Dr. Carolyn Williams of the non-profit organization De One Hand at AnOTHER received the Foundation's Education Award, and former director of the Johnson Space Center, Gerry Griffin, flight director of all Apollo missions in crew, received the Pioneer Award. very humiliating, he came out of nowhere, "said Griffin." It's so good to know that we pbaded the torch that will allow the next generation to take us to the next stage. "

Next step, says Griffin, is a return of the Americans to the Moon and, finally, Mars – something that former Apollo astronauts, Walt Cunningham, Harrison Schmitt, Rusty Schweickart and Tom Stafford have discussed at the time. A conversation with Cox

"We are sort of gone through a second door here. The door is not completely open – we have not gone through it yet – but it's open, "told The Associated Press Schweickart, who flew as a lunar module pilot on Apollo 9. "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 to do things that have never been