Buzz Aldrin, the astronaut who was the second man to walk on the moon, is taking a giant step into the hit reality TV series “Dancing With The Stars”.
Mr. Aldrin, 80, was set to show off his dance moves Monday night, though his audience will likely be less than the 600 million people who watched him and fellow Apollo 11 astronaut Neil Armstrong take the first steps on the moon in 1969.
Mr. Aldrin told reporters that he agreed to participate in the show as a way to bring attention to space travel and inspire them to study science, technology, engineering and math.
But he also told reporters that in many ways doing the cha-cha in front of millions of viewers was harder than his kangaroo hops on the surface of the moon. “When I prance out there with the cha-cha step, I’ve got to be filled with far more confidence than I was when we began to land on the moon,” Mr. Aldrin told CNN.
Mr. Aldrin will be the oldest dancer on the show, and will compete with the likes of actresses Pamela Anderson and Shannon Doherty, and Olympic figure skater Evan Lysacek.
“I hope when people think about voting they think about not just the most talented, energetic people with the sexiest uniforms and outfits, but someone trying his best to execute maturity and grace.”
