Buzz Aldrin, a NASA astronaut who walked on the moon during Apollo 11, speaks onstage during an event on March 23, 2019.
- Buzz Aldrin was one of two astronauts to walk on the moon for the first time on July 20, 1969.
- On the eve of the Apollo 11 mission's 50th anniversary, Aldrin spoke to Omega, which supplied the watch he wore on the lunar mission.
- Aldrin recounted the moments that he thinks defined the historic NASA mission during an exclusive interview.
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It's been half a century since Buzz Aldrin rocketed to the moon and walked upon its dusty, pockmarked surface, but his memory of that historic event is still as fresh as ever.
On July 16, 1969, Aldrin was just 39 years old when he boarded a small capsule atop a 363-foot-tall (111-meter-tall) Saturn V rocket and launched toward the moon. About four days later, on July 20, Aldrin and his commander, Neil Armstrong, climbed into a lunar lander. The two left fellow astronaut Mike Collins behind in the capsule, descended toward the lunar surface, and stepped outside.
In remembrance of NASA's historic feat on the eve of its 50th anniversary, watch brand Omega - which made the Speedmaster timepieces astronauts wore on the moon - spoke to Aldrin about his experiences.
Below are excerpts from Omega's exclusive interview with the moon walker and the moments he said defined Apollo 11.