Did you know there’s a Masonic Lodge on the Moon?

On July 20, 1969, two American Astronauts landed on the moon in an area known as the “Sea of Tranquility”. One of those brave men was Brother Edwin Eugene (Buzz) Aldrin, Jr., a member of Clear Lake Lodge No. 1417,  Texas. Brother Buzz was authorised by the Grand Master of Texas to claim Masonic Territorial Jurisdiction for Grand Lodge of Texas on The Moon.

Buzz Aldrin conducted the consecration of the first Masonic Lodge on the Moon, thus securing the right to open a branch – the Grand Provincial Moon Lodge. The landing of the lunar module had been made in the sea of Tranquility, therefore the new lodge had received the name Tranquility Lodge and got the number 2000.

The astronauts did not doubt that by 2000 there would be a permanent lunar base and it would be no harder to get there than to fly from San Francisco to Boston. It would only be a transfer point on the way to Mars or the rings of Saturn. Given how many Freemasons there were in NASA’s astronaut squad, it was quite logical to open a special lodge for them.