Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer, his family confirmed Wednesday morning.
Collins was part of the three-man crew that made history with the lunar landing in 1969, but unlike Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, he never walked on the moon.
However, Collins was tasked with piloting the command module that circled 60 miles above his comrades and took home a different and unique experience of the mission.
‘The thing I remember most is the view of planet Earth from a great distance,’ he said later. ‘Tiny. Very shiny. Blue and white. Bright. Beautiful. Serene and fragile.’
The Collins family shared heartfelt message following the passing of their beloved astronaut.
‘We regret to share that our beloved father and grandfather passed away today, after a valiant battle with cancer, the statement reads.
‘He spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side. Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way. We will miss him terribly.’
Scroll down for video
Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins has died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer, his family confirmed Wednesday morning
‘Today the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins,’ said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk.’
‘As pilot of the Apollo 11 command module – some called him ‘the loneliest man in history’ – while his colleagues walked on the Moon for the first time, he helped our nation achieve a defining milestone.
‘He also distinguished himself in the Gemini Program and as an Air Force pilot.’
Collins has been referred to as ‘The Forgotten Man’ during the Apollo 11 lunar landing, as he circled above while Armstrong and Aldrin made ‘one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.’
The astronauts family shared a heartfelt statement Wednesday. NASA also shared statements about Collins passing: ‘Today the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins’
Collins (center) was part of the Apollo 11 mission along with Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right). The trio made history in 1969 as the first humans to walk on the moon
He remained alone for more than 21 hours until his two colleagues returned in the lunar module and lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon.
‘Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins,’ the mission log said, referring to the biblical figure.
Collins wrote an account of his experiences in his 1974 autobiography, ‘Carrying the Fire,’ but largely shunned publicity.
‘I know that I would be a liar or a fool if I said that I have the best of the three Apollo 11 seats, but I can say with truth and equanimity that I am perfectly satisfied with the one I have,’ Collins said in comments released by NASA in 2009.
Collins has been referred to as ‘The Forgotten Man’ during the Apollo 11 lunar landing, as he circled above while Armstrong and Aldrin. Here is Collins in a practice simulator at Kennedy Space Center as he prepared for the lunar mission
Michael Collins (middle) was born in Rome, Italy on October 31, 1930 – the same year as both Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right)
Pictured is the Apollo 11 Saturn V rocket that took Collins, Armstrong and Aldrin to space on July 16, 1969
However, his mission was just as important – ensuring the team could dock with the Columbia command modular for the return trip home.
Had something gone wrong and Aldrin and Armstrong been stuck on the moon´s surface – a real fear – Collins would have returned to Earth alone.
Aldrin shared a tweet shortly after news surfaced of the American hero passing and included with the statement, the astronaut shared an image of the three Apollo 11 members smiling together.
‘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,’ wrote Aldrin, who is now the only living astronaut part of the first lunar landing.
Collins was born in Rome, Italy on October 31, 1930 – the same year as both Armstrong and Aldrin.
As a boy, Collins dreamed of going to space. ‘I used to joke that NASA sent me to the wrong place, to the moon,’ he said, ‘because I think Mars is a more interesting place. It’s a place I always read about as a child.’
The Collins family shared heartfelt message following the passing of their beloved astronaut. Pictured is his wife Patricia and their children Kate (left), Michael (middle) and Ann (right)
‘Michael remained a tireless promoter of space. ‘Exploration is not a choice, really, it’s an imperative Intensely thoughtful about his experience in orbit,’ NASA shared in Wednesday’s statement
He was the son of a US Army major general and, like his father, attended the US Military Academy at West Point, New York, graduating in 1952
Collins began his career in the US Air Force and as a former test pilot, he flew on Gemini 10 in 1966, three years after being accepted into the third astronaut group.
He was supposed to be command module pilot of Apollo 8, the first manned flight to circle the moon, but was bumped because of a bone spur in his neck.
Surgery corrected the problem, and he wound up on Apollo 11, which some may see as a twist of fate.
As a boy, Collins dreamed of going to space. In this June 19, 1969 file photo, Apollo 11 command module pilot astronaut Michael Collins takes a break during training for the moon mission, in Cape Kennedy.
Collins was astounded when reporters later asked him about being lonely as he circled the moon by himself, especially on the lunar far side, out of radio contact.
‘I felt like I was Neil and Buzz’s meal ticket home,’ he said. ‘I was in no way, shape or form lonely.’
Collins left NASA six months after Apollo 11.
He briefly served as assistant secretary of state for public affairs and was founding director of the Smithsonian Institution’s National Air and Space Museum.
‘Michael remained a tireless promoter of space. ‘Exploration is not a choice, really, it’s an imperative,’ he said. Intensely thoughtful about his experience in orbit,’ Jurczyk shared in Wednesday’s statement.
‘What would be worth recording is what kind of civilization we Earthlings created and whether or not we ventured out into other parts of the galaxy.’
‘His own signature accomplishments, his writings about his experiences, and his leadership of the National Air and Space Museum helped gain wide exposure for the work of all the men and women who have helped our nation push itself to greatness in aviation and space.
‘There is no doubt he inspired a new generation of scientists, engineers, test pilots, and astronauts.’
‘NASA mourns the loss of this accomplished pilot and astronaut, a friend of all who seek to push the envelope of human potential.
‘Whether his work was behind the scenes or on full view, his legacy will always be as one of the leaders who took America’s first steps into the cosmos. And his spirit will go with us as we venture toward farther horizons.’
WHAT WAS THE APOLLO PROGRAM?
NASA photo taken on July 16, 1969 shows the huge, 363-foot tall Apollo 11 Spacecraft 107/Lunar Module S/Saturn 506) space vehicle launched from Pad A, Launch Complex 39. Kennedy Space Center (KSC), at 9:32 a.m. (EDT).
Apollo was the NASA programme that launched in 1961 and got the first man on the moon eight years later.
The first four flights tested the equipment for the Apollo Program and six of the other seven flights managed to land on the moon.
The first manned mission to the moon was Apollo 8 which circled around it on Christmas Eve in 1968 but did not land.
The crew of Apollo 9 spent ten days orbiting Earth and completed the first manned flight of the lunar module – the section of the Apollo rocket that would later land Neil Armstrong on the Moon.
The Apollo 11 mission was the first one to land on the moon on 20 July 1969.
The capsule landed on the Sea of Tranquillity, carrying mission commander Neil Armstrong and pilot Buzz Aldrin.
Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the lunar surface while Michael Collins remained in orbit around the moon.
When Armstrong became the first person to walk on the moon, he said, ‘That’s one small step for (a) man; one giant leap for mankind.’
Apollo 12 landed later that year on 19 November on the Ocean of Storms, writes NASA.
Apollo 13 was to be the third mission to land on the moon, but just under 56 hours into flight, an oxygen tank explosion forced the crew to cancel the lunar landing and move into the Aquarius lunar module to return back to Earth.
Apollo 15 was the ninth manned lunar mission in the Apollo space program, and considered at the time the most successful manned space flight up to that moment because of its long duration and greater emphasis on scientific exploration than had been possible on previous missions.
The last Apollo moon landing happened in 1972 after a total of 12 astronauts had touched down on the lunar surface.
Astronaut Edwin ‘Buzz’ Aldrin unpacking experiments from the Lunar Module on the moon during the Apollo 11 mission. Photographed by Neil Armstrong, 20 July 1969