It seems there’s still plenty of life left in the 95-year-old, as we saw back in 2023 when he got married for the fourth time to Dr Anca Faur.
Despite an estimated 600 million people tuning into the first Moon landing back in 1969, and various scientists and experts proving that it happened, there are still conspiracy theorists out there who believe it was all fake. We can even see the Earth reflected in Aldrin’s helmet, for goodness sake!
At 8.17pm on 20 July, 1969, the Apollo 11 crew – consisting of Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, and Michael Collins – successfully landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on Earth’s only natural satellite, and they took pictures including a footprint on the Moon and Aldrin saluting the US flag.
Nearly 56 years on, and some still argue about the very real landing’s legitimacy on the internet.
We’ve already managed to shut Flat Earthers up using basic science but Aldrin opted for a more physical approach when a stranger on the street accused him of being a ‘liar’ and a ‘coward’ back in 2002.
Even at the age of 72, the former astronaut wasn’t afraid to stand up for himself.
Buzz Aldrin in the 90s (Mark Sennet/Getty Images)
Given the intense training Aldrin would have gone through to prepare himself for one of the most significant scientific breakthroughs in history, it must be pretty insulting to be told that it never happened.
So, when Aldrin, who was the inspiration behind the name of the beloved Buzz Lightyear character in the Toy Story series, encountered ‘Moon truther’ Bart Sibrel in Los Angeles, he didn’t hold anything back.
Sibrel approached Aldrin while he was outside a restaurant with his stepdaughter and repeatedly asked him to ‘swear on the Bible’ that he had been to the Moon.
Responding to the hostility, the former astronaut raised his voice and asked him to ‘get away from me’. To which Sibrel replied: “You’re a coward and a liar and a thief…”
Aldrin then punched Sibrel square in the jaw, which quickly shut him up.
While Sibrel attempted to press charges against Aldrin, the case was thrown out as the court found the conspiracy theorist to be the instigator.
At the time, deputy district attorney Elizabeth Ratinoff said: “Ultimately, Sibrel called Aldrin a thief, liar and coward. Video depicts Aldrin striking Sibrel once in the face with a fist. Sibrel immediately turns to the camera crew present and appears to twice state, ‘Did you get that?’
“Based on the totality of the circumstances it is unlikely a jury would find Aldrin guilty of a misdemeanor battery charge.”
Speaking about conspiracy theorists following the incident, Aldrin told Fox News: “I don’t pay any attention to them, really. They’re out for themselves to make a name.”
