August 27, 2015 - 1:28 PM
MELBOURNE, Fla. - Buzz Aldrin is teaming up with Florida Institute of Technology to develop "a master plan" for colonizing Mars within 25 years.
The second man to walk on the moon took part in a signing ceremony Thursday at the university, which is located in Melbourne, less than an hour's drive from NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The Buzz Aldrin Space Institute is set to open this fall.
The 85-year-old Aldrin, who followed Neil Armstrong onto the moon's surface on July 20, 1969, will serve as a research professor of aeronautics as well as a senior faculty adviser for the institute.
Aldrin is pushing for a Mars settlement by approximately 2040. More specifically, he's shooting for 2039, the 70th anniversary of his own Apollo 11 moon landing.
News from © The Associated Press, 2015