Astronaut Edwin E. (Buzz) Aldrin has been appointed to an M.I.T. Visiting Committee on Earth and Planetary Sciences.

Aldrin was a graduate student in the M.I.T. Department of Aeronautics and Astronauties from 1939 to 1963. He received his Sc.D. degree in June, 1963 after submitting a thesis on orbital rendezvous and docking. Four months later he was selected for astronaut training.

The committee. like M.I.T.'s 25 other visiting committees, meets periodically to assess the progress of a particular department. The committee review programs and recommend needed modifications. Members include Faculty members, alumni, and experts in specific fields.

Aldrin was among 35 alumni appointed this year to M.I.T. visiting committees. U.S. Secretary of Labor George P. Shultz, and World Bank Executive Director Virgilio Barco-Vargas, will also serve on committees.

Of the 32 other new committee members. 27 are business executives. Three are Faculty members of other universities, including Harry Schwachmann. Clinical Professor of Pediatries at the Harvard Medical School.