We are excited and mildly baffled that Buzz Aldrin — you know, the second man on the Moon, is going to appear on Dancing with the Stars this season. Aldrin is generally a pretty good sport about media appearances: He went on Sesame Street a few years ago to explain that no, the moon is not made of cookie,  and he was one of the most memorable guests on Da Ali G Show, where he very patiently explained that no, he did not walk on the sun. (Difference being that he thought the latter interview was real.) But: an 80-year-old former astronaut on Dancing with the Stars?
Aldrin recently spoke to Space.com about the reality show, and it sounds like he’s getting pretty serious about it:
“I’m not known for that agility,” Aldrin told SPACE.com. “I’m one of those people who need continued exposure. Whether it’s flying a spacecraft or trying something out on the dance floor, it takes a while to really get comfortable with it.”
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Though he’ll be up against some stiff competition, including U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medalist Evan Lysacek, Aldrin says he plans to play hard.
“I wouldn’t have gotten into the space program if I wasn’t competitive,” he said.
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Aldrin hopes to tailor his “Dancing With the Stars” experience to reflect his background – perhaps by dancing to a moon-themed song at some point.
Though taking down that punk Lysacek is clearly an important goal of Aldrin’s, it sounds like his primary objective is to popularize the space program. The real buried lede here: in that vein, Aldrin is also going to be on an episode of 30 Rock set to air on May 11th. So cool. From his Twitter: “In NYC today taping w/Tina Fey for upcoming 30 Rock episode set to air 5/11. Fun times.”
(via Space.com)
Published: Mar 9, 2010 08:47 am