Rod Pyle is a prolific science writer and historian who has written extensively on the US space program, including several Sterling titles (Missions to the Moon, 2009; Blueprint for a Battlestar, 2016). He works as a writer for the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and is a frequent speaker at science and technology conferences. He has researched the Apollo landing extensively, and has created an experiential learning program based on the leadership and management of the Apollo project for the Johnson Space Center. Pyle has written and produced numerous science documentaries, including Modern Marvels: Apollo 11, for the History Channel. He has made numerous media appearances, including for PBS, NPR, and the Washington Post, and is a frequent contributor to Space.com, LiveScience, NBC News Online, Yahoo News, the Huffington Post, and more. Pyle is the senior editor for Ad Astra, a publication of the National Space Society. The National Space Society (NSS) is an independent, nonpartisan, educational, grassroots, non-profit organization dedicated to the creation of a spacefaring civilization. Widely acknowledged as the preeminent citizen’s voice on space, NSS has chapters in the United States and around the world. The society also publishes Ad Astra magazine, an award-winning periodical chronicling the most important developments in space, and organizes the annual International Space Development Conference (ISDC) and Space Settlement Summit (SSS). See more at space.nss.org.
Buzz Aldrin (b. 1930) is an American astronaut, and the second person to walk on the Moon. Born in Montclair, New Jersey, he turned down a full scholarship to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in favor of an education at West Point Academy, where he graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering. After receiving a commission by the United States Air Force (USAF), Aldrin flew sixty-six combat missions during the Korean War, after which he continued his education at MIT before becoming an astronaut in 1963. Unlike most of the others chosen for that role, Aldrin was never a test pilot, but attracted the attention of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) with his success in the USAF and his graduate work at MIT. Aldrin flew on Gemini 12, and was selected—along with Neil Armstrong and Michael Collins—for Apollo 11, the first mission to the surface of the Moon. Since retiring from NASA, he has done charity work and written numerous books, including Encounter with Tiber (1996), his first science fiction novel.
