London, July 04: The NASA astronaut Buzz Aldrin has said that humans should create a settlement on Mars to provide much-needed objectives to the younger generation.
Aldrin, the second man to set his foot on the Moon, has claimed that setting up habitation on the surface of the red planet is a "wonderful objective" for humanity.
The 79-year-old astronaut said that setting up a space station on Mars would inspire kids as much as his 1969 Apollo 11 Moon landing with Neil Armstrong.
"I think we need to look quite a way down into the future to inspire our young people with that greatness,” a news daily quoted him as saying.
He added: "America helped to take the world to the moon 40 years ago and America certainly can help lead the world in the direction of Mars."
However, Aldrin said that he was sceptical of climate change theories.
"I think the climate has been changing for billions of years,” he said.
“If it's warming now, it may cool off later. I'm not in favour of just taking short-term isolated situations and depleting our resources to keep our climate just the way it is today.
"I'm not necessarily of the school that we are causing it all, I think the world is causing it,” he added.
Aldrin was in London to promote the publication of his memoirs Magnificent Desolation.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, July 04, 2009, 20:32