Science

This is what Buzz Aldrin was thinking when he left the moon

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buzz aldrin lunar lander
Neil Armstrong shot this photo of Buzz Aldrin in the lunar module before they left the moon.  NASA

As the second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin has described what it was like to take his historic first steps.

But what was he thinking when he left?

When Tech Insider asked this question, he started singing a song:

"'Oh man, I wanna go home,'" he sang. "Now that’s not the right tune. 'I wanna go home.'"

It sounded a bit like "Sloop John B," which the Beach Boys released in 1966. This would make sense, since the moon landing was in 1969.

"We were successful doing what we were sent there to do," Aldrin said. "And so when we were cleared for liftoff, I said, 'Roger, Houston, we're No. 1 on the runway.' Now that's a humorous absurdity, but that was the state of mind I was in because we had fixed the circuit breaker problem."

The circuit breaker on the lunar module turned the ascent engine on, so Aldrin and Neil Armstrong would need it to get back to Apollo 11 orbiting around the Moon so they could return to Earth.

At some point, the circuit breaker broke, but Aldrin was able to activate it (and the engine) with a felt-tip pen.

lunar lander out the window
Buzz Aldrin took this photo out his window of the Lunar Module before they left the moon.  NASA

And then they were ready for liftoff. "I wanna go home."

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Rebecca was an Executive Editor for Business Insider's news division, overseeing the Science, Speed news, Weekend news, LA news, Visual Features, and Voices of Color desks. She worked across teams to assign, coordinate, and edit breaking news, explainers, features, analysis, and investigations. She also developed guides, trainings, and coaching opportunities for the newsroom to get better every day.Rebecca started as a reporter on Tech Insider's science section in 2015, covering everything from solar energy and rocket launches to Zika, before moving to the news team during the summer of 2016 at the height of the presidential election and then running weekend coverage for 2 years. She's previously worked with the Politics, Military & Defense, and Video teams, and served as an editorial liaison with the product team that powers the CMS.She received her Master's degree from the Science, Health and Environmental Reporting Program at New York University, as well as a BS in Biology and a BA in Journalism from the University of Minnesota. Rebecca has also written for Popular ScienceScientific AmericanScienceline, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, and the Minnesota Daily.ExpertiseBreaking news, legal analysis, criminal justice, police misconduct, public health, abortion, space, energy, visual features, extreme weather, White House history, voting rights, executive actionsPopular articlesJust don't call it 'climate change': What Republicans in Dallas can teach us about saving the planetWhat Buzz Aldrin was thinking when he left the moonHow the 25th Amendment works to remove a sitting presidentHurricane categories tell only part of the storyTRUMP'S FIRST 100 DAYS: Here's how they compare with Obama's, Bush's, and Clinton's