Aldrin hit hard times after epic journey

New York: A few minutes into our conversation, Buzz Aldrin makes it clear that we will not be spending much time reliving the day that began a new chapter in the history of the human race and made him one of the most famous people on - and off - the planet.

It is not that the Second Man on the Moon does not want to talk about his space odyssey; it is just that he thinks he should be suitably rewarded for doing so. Sharing his extraterrestrial experiences is, he concedes, "an appropriate and necessary thing: it's what people want. But I can't just keep doing that for ever in my life [he's 79] unless I'm appropriately compensated".

So, is he reluctant to talk about Apollo 11? "No, I wouldn't say I'm reluctant, but my [interest] is not in the past".

And he proceeds to roll out a diversionary anecdote about how, when he was young, his father would reminisce endlessly about the early days of aviation and how "regrettable" that was. He is and always has been, he says, "future-oriented".

Surprisingly, Aldrin's reservations about describing what it is like to kick up moon dust for an hour and a half, as he did on July 20, 1969, are in marked contrast to his willingness to discuss - free of charge - the dark side of his life: his struggles with depression and alcoholism, his two failed marriages, his difficult relationship with his father, and the tragedy of his mother (born Marion Moon), who killed herself shortly before the lunar mission because she did not think she could handle her son's imminent fame.

And, while refusing to elaborate on his celebrated description of the Moon's "magnificent desolation" - the title of his new autobiography - he is happy to talk about the man who accompanied him on his incredible journey.

Not that "happy" is quite the word to describe his relationship with Neil Armstrong - now or 40 years ago. Is he still in touch with Armstrong or Michael Collins, the third crew member, who stayed in lunar orbit?

"Well," he says, not quite answering the question, "they have personalities that are different, each one, and they're different from mine. We worked together as a very close team, not jocular but very seriously determined to carry out [the task] we were given."

So it was a professional relationship? "Absolutely professional, yes."

And it did not continue after Apollo 11? "Not that much. Hardly at all."

He sees Armstrong very rarely: the last time was at National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (Nasa) 50th anniversary celebrations in 2008.

"I was expected to be there," he says, adding in passing an observation that throws a revealing light on their relationship: "No one mentioned that I was there."

Did they chat? "Not really." Having shared with Armstrong such a wondrous, perilous, unprecedented adventure - one that redrew the boundaries of human experience - does it sadden Aldrin that there is no longer a bond between them, if indeed there ever was one?

"I'd rather it be otherwise, yeah. It just doesn't seem proper any more for me to ask him to come to things I'm involved in. And he doesn't ask me. He doesn't let me know what he's doing."

It is widely assumed that Aldrin resents the fact that it was Armstrong - the mission commander - who became the first person to set foot on another world. Wrong, says Aldrin, before explaining in detail why it was never going to be him.

In previous flights it had always been the junior officer who left the spacecraft first for Eva (extra-vehicular activity). But what people do not understand, he says, is that this precedent did not apply on the Moon because both of them were going to explore the surface, whereas previously only one astronaut was ever outside the craft at a time.

And, anyway, he says, it was never his ambition to be first. "I really didn't want that because of the added heartache [it would bring]. Even more questions about this and that."

Indeed, he did not even want to be on the first lunar landing. Later missions, he says, allowed more time for important scientific work.

After Apollo 11, the 39-year-old Aldrin found it difficult to readjust to life on Earth. His marriage of 21 years soon broke up, he remarried in haste and was divorced for a second time within two years.