Monday, July 20th marks the 40th anniversary of the moon landing, when heroic MIT graduate Buzz Aldrin took his historic steps on the lunar surface.

Institute Archives’ records reveal that it was an accomplishment he had only dreamed about as a graduate student.  In the dedication of his PhD thesis, Aldrin wrote, “In the hopes that this work may in some way contribute to their exploration of space this is dedicated to the crew members of this country’s present and future manned space programs. If only I could join them in their exciting endeavors!”

See Aldrin’s thesis in the current Fascination of Flight exhibit in the Libraries’ Maihaugen Gallery, or find it online in DSpace.