To the Moon and Beyond With Neil deGrasse Tyson, Buzz Aldrin, and Friends

When comedian Eugene Mirman introduced Neil deGrasse Tyson to the stage of NYC's Town Hall for Star Talk Live, he referred to him as the "Robert Plant of Astrophysics." Sure enough, Tyson strutted out with his shirt half-buttoned to curry the audience's favor.

Such an entrance set the scene for Wednesday night's event, in which Mirman and Tyson were joined by John Oliver of The Daily Show, space journalist Andrew Chaikin, and the one and only Buzz Aldrin. Here's what we learned, other than the fact that Tyson can moonwalk with the best of them.

Neil Armstrong Was a Camera Hog

Seemingly delighted at the opportunity to wisecrack with professional comedians, Buzz Aldrin was more than happy to tell the audience about his stint on the surface of the moon. Tyson asked him if it was true that Aldrin was the astronaut shown in all the photos from the 1969 landing, as Armstrong had been the photographer.

"He wouldn't let go of the camera!" Aldrin said.

The astronaut later recalled that he had spent 5 minutes or so prancing around outside, moving in different ways, assuming that NASA would look at the footage to see if all the physics were as they'd expected. No one looked at it or even asked him why he'd spent all that time skipping around. A few years ago a scientist decided to do the calculations, and Aldrin was pleased to find out that his smooth moves were all just as science would have predicted.

But don't try to tell Buzz Aldrin about the moon. Even a simple statement such as "There's no noise on the moon," from an expert like Tyson had Aldrin up in arms, saying, "How do you know there's no noise? Have you been there?"

Why Buzz Really Became an Astronaut

John Oliver pointed out that as a diver and an astronaut, Aldrin must "really hate the surface of the earth." Tyson added that in his day, Aldrin was quite the pole-vaulter.

"During the post-moon tour, we got to find out what the best motorcycles in every country were. But that wasn't important. This was 1969. We also got to find out where the miniskirts were shortest."

Communist Jokes Just Won't Go Away

Following Aldrin's talk about how getting to the moon was about being first, Mirman quipped: "Were you hoping there would be a Russian on the moon when you got there so you could punch him?" Buzz just chuckled, and would neither confirm nor deny his desire to clock Alexey Leonov.

And to the notion that our space success was "just a reaction" to Russia's, Aldrin replied: "Our reaction was pretty ***damn good." The general consensus was that we just couldn't have done it without the drive to beat the Soviet Union. "If only bin Laden had been hiding on Mars." Tyson moaned.

Is Everything Going to Be Okay?

During the Q&A, talk turned to recent meteors, and a debate began between Aldrin and Tyson. To Aldrin, humans need to get off the planet to avoid destruction. Tyson countered that it couldn't possibly cost more to just learn how to deflect space rocks.

"Just give them enough money to do both!" Oliver shrieked, before raising his hand and softly asking Tyson, "Is everything going to be okay?" Ultimately, Oliver offered up his own solution: "Give all the money to Bruce Willis. He's done it once, he'll do it again."

There's Your Answer

It wouldn't be Star Talk without some out-of-the-blue profundity from Tyson. During an argument with Chaikin on whether or not a 2018 Mars trip could happen, he turned to Aldrin.

"Did we know how to get to the moon in '62?" he asked. Aldrin shook his head. "Then there's your answer!" He shouted at Chaikin. "To dream! Columbus didn't know where he was going."

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/how-to/blog/to-the-moon-and-beyond-with-neil-degrasse-tyson-buzz-aldrin-and-friends-15155109?src=rss

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