Meeting Buzz Aldrin.

How often do you get to meet one of your childhood heroes? Not so often, I guess.

I remember, as an 8 year old boy, way back in 1969, sitting down in the school hall with my classmates to watch Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin take those first steps on the moon. At the age of 5 my son declared he wanted to be an astronaut, and informed me that he knew the way to the moon - it is "up". And, by the way, he is not scared, because he is English!

So, unsurprisingly, when Buzz Aldrin visited the European Parliament yesterday, there were a disproportionate number of men of a certain age present. My age group, to be precise. To listen to Aldrin describe in some detail the Apollo 11 mission, and particularly the moon landing itself was probably a once in a lifetime experience, and one that did not disappoint.

I was also hugely impressed by the optimism and ambition Aldrin displayed for his current passion, which is preparing the way for the first mission to Mars. Not bad for an 83 year old!