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The second man to walk on the moon, Buzz Aldrin, has endorsed former President Donald Trump for a second term.

In a lengthy statement, the 94-year-old brigadier general said Wednesday that he was “impressed” by the first Trump administration’s efforts to take “human space exploration” to the next level and how it “once again became a policy of great importance made”.

Aldrin said Trump has “reignited” efforts to return to the moon and continue to Mars. The astronaut praised the Trump administration for re-establishing the National Space Council, “so leading voices could advocate for the importance of space travel to America.”

He further claimed that US defenses had been “strengthened” with the creation of the Space Force, saying it was “increasingly important as space becomes a contested domain.”

Aldrin also shared his excitement about the “great progress” in private spaceflight and called billionaire Elon Musk a “visionary.” Musk was a prominent part of the Trump campaign and a vocal backer.

“We face serious and difficult realities in the global security landscape,” Aldrin added. “At home, we face major economic challenges, stability in our communities and concerns about the rule of law. For these and other reasons, we need a proven, serious, proven leader as president.”

Aldrin indicated he believes Trump has the “understanding of human nature, clarity of judgment, decisiveness, knowledge, understanding and calmness under pressure” needed to lead the country.

“This job requires sober analysis of frightening scenarios and the instinct for decisive leadership,” he said.

“For me, for the future of our nation, to meet enormous challenges, and for the proven policy achievements above, I believe the nation is best served by voting for Donald J. Trump. I wholeheartedly support him as President of the United States. Godspeed President Trump, and God bless the United States of America,” he concluded.

Born in 1930, Aldrin is the last surviving crew member of the Apollo 11 mission to the moon following the deaths of Michael Collins in 2021 and Neil Armstrong in 2012.

He made three spacewalks during the Gemini 12 mission in 1966, three years before the moon landing.

In 2019, Aldrin called on Trump to rename the Space Force to something less antagonistic.

In June 2018, the new branch of the armed forces was announced, responsible for military operations in space.

“I thought for a while that a better name would be ‘Space Guard’ because it has a greater deterrent,” Aldrin told the newspaper. Daily mail at the time.

“It’s not a strike,” he added. “We have a strike force that is aggressive. ‘Space Guard’ is more defensive and I think that’s kind of what people had in mind for the Space Force.”

But Aldrin said he believed the creation of the military branch was “one giant leap in the right direction,” referring to the first words Armstrong said when he stepped on the moon.