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Buzz only flew on Apollo 11, but would go on to be involved with the space program promoting space exploration and in 2001 was appointed to the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]].
Buzz only flew on Apollo 11, but would go on to be involved with the space program promoting space exploration and in 2001 was appointed to the Commission on the Future of the United States Aerospace Industry by [[George W. Bush|President Bush]].
== Religious observance on the Moon ==
On July 20, 2009, writer Eric Metaxas revealed that Buzz actually celebrated [[Holy Communion]] on the Moon, within a few minutes of the landing and before the famous spacewalk. An elder in his [[Presbyterian Church]] congregation, Buzz sought to mark the unprecedented occasion of the lunar landing in a fitting manner. He asked his [[church]] pastor for help, and the pastor obliged by consecrating some Communion elements and furnishing a tiny chalice. These Buzz took with him as part of his personal-items allowance.
Then, shortly after the landing, Buzz urged all those listening on [[radio]] and [[television]] to "give thanks in his or her own way." Then the two astronauts cut off their radio communication while Buzz conducted his celebration in private, with only his Mission Commander for company. He would have preferred to celebrate the Communion openly, but [[NASA]] was then facing a [[lawsuit]] by [[Atheism|atheist]] [[Madelyn Murray O'Hair]] and asked him to keep his observance private in order to avoid any more legal difficulties from that quarter.
Buzz wrote about his celebration in the magazine ''Guideposts'', several months following his return. Many years later, Mr. Metaxas asked Buzz about it, and he confirmed it. The story also appears in Metaxas' book, ''Everything You Always Wanted to Know About God (But Were Afraid to Ask).''<ref name=metaxas>Metaxas E, "Communion on the Moon: July 20, 1969," <http://www.cbn.com/>, July 22, 2009. <http://www.cbn.com/spirituallife/inspirationalteaching/Metaxas_Moon_Communion.aspx></ref>
== References ==
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[[Category:Astronauts]]
[[Category:Astronauts]]
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