“Loneliest” Moon Mission Astronaut Michael Collins Dies At 90
By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
(Worthy News) – Michael Collins, who flew on the Apollo 11 mission to the Moon but never stood on its surface, has died after struggling with cancer, his family said. He was 90.
Collins, who briefly tried politics but eventually became a celebrated writer and artist, played a crucial role in politics during the eight-day Apollo 11 mission in 1969.
While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin garnered most of the attention for the historic first Moon landing, Collins was just as crucial for the mission’s success.
As the command module pilot, Collins stayed in lunar orbit while Neil and Buzz bounded across the surface, at times without any radio contact to the outside world.
“Not since Adam has any human known such solitude,” NASA public affairs officer Douglas Ward told reporters at the time.
He performed crucial maneuvers in space that were needed to get to the Moon. Collins had mixed feelings about others getting the glory: “I certainly thought that I did not have the best seat of the three,” he said. “But I can say in all honesty; I was thrilled with the seat that I did have.”
Aldrin, 91, is now the only surviving member of the mission. Paying tribute to Collins, Aldrin wrote: “Dear Mike, Wherever you have been or will be, you will always have the Fire to Carry us deftly to new heights and to the future. We will miss you. May you Rest In Peace.”
President Joe Biden also honored Collins in a statement released Wednesday, saying he “lived a life of service to our country.” He was a key player in the United States’ history of “remarkable accomplishments in space,” Biden added.
The Collins family said that “Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, the same way.” They referred to his” valiant battle with cancer.”
However, they stressed: “He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side.”
And, “We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did,” they added. “We will honor his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life.”
Two daughters and grandchildren survive Collins. He died on the 64th anniversary of his wedding to Patricia Finnegan Collins, who passed away in 2014.
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