First published April 30, 2021.
Michael Collins, the command-module pilot of Apollo 11, died of cancer on 28 April 2021 at his home in Naples, Florida, aged 90. While Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made the first Moon landing in July 1969, Collins stayed in lunar orbit aboard the command module Columbia, keeping the ride home ready. He never walked on the Moon, which is why he is sometimes called the "forgotten astronaut", yet without him the mission could not have worked. This is a look at who he was, what his job actually involved, and a few popular myths about his time alone behind the Moon.
From Rome to West Point to the test-pilot school
Collins was born in Rome, Italy, on 31 October 1930, where his father, a US Army officer, was serving as military attaché. He came from a deeply military family: his uncle was General J. Lawton Collins, and his brother also became an Army officer.
He graduated from the US Military Academy at West Point in 1952 and chose the Air Force, flying F-86 Sabre jets in France before training as a test pilot at Edwards Air Force Base. NASA selected him in its third group of astronauts in 1963.
Gemini 10: his first trip to space
Collins first flew in July 1966 on Gemini 10 with commander John Young. The two docked with an Agena target vehicle and used its engine to climb to a then-record altitude of about 475 miles. Collins made two spacewalks on the flight, becoming the first person to perform two EVAs on a single mission. His first was cut short when his eyes began watering from fumes in the suit system.
His path to the Moon was not straightforward. In 1968 he needed surgery on his cervical spine and was removed from the prime crew of what became Apollo 9, with Jim Lovell taking his place. After he recovered, he was assigned to Apollo 11.
What the command-module pilot actually did
On Apollo 11, the spacecraft had two parts that separated in lunar orbit. Armstrong and Aldrin flew the lunar module Eagle down to the Sea of Tranquility, while Collins stayed in Columbia, the only part of the spacecraft able to bring the crew back to Earth.
His job was demanding. He flew the command module solo, tracked the landing site, ran systems checks and prepared for the rendezvous when Eagle's ascent stage lifted off. Had the lunar module had trouble reaching the planned orbit, Collins had procedures to manoeuvre Columbia down to meet it. He carried a thick notebook of contingency plans for that possibility.
In all, he circled the Moon about 30 times. Eagle spent roughly 21 and a half hours on the surface before rejoining him. Space historian Francis French told NPR that Collins was "in many ways the keystone of the mission", noting he was the only crew member who flew a spacecraft solo and the only one who could get all three home.
Alone behind the Moon: myths and facts
Each time Columbia passed behind the Moon, Collins lost radio contact with Earth for about 48 minutes. That image of one man on the far side, cut off from every other human, made him famous as "the loneliest man in history". A few details are often told wrongly.
He did not feel lonely
Collins said repeatedly that he felt no loneliness and was confident in his role. He even joked that losing contact was a pleasure, because for a while Mission Control would finally go quiet. In his memoir he described a feeling closer to awareness and satisfaction than isolation.
The far side is not the "dark side"
Older reports said he passed over the "dark side of the Moon". The far side gets as much sunlight as the near side; it simply always faces away from Earth because the Moon's rotation is locked to its orbit. "Far side" is the accurate term.
He was not the farthest human from Earth
Another common claim is that Collins, behind the Moon, was farther from Earth than anyone had ever been. He was not. Apollo 11 orbited only about 100 kilometres above the lunar surface. The distance record was set by the crew of Apollo 13, who swung around the far side on a much wider path in April 1970 and reached 400,171 km from Earth. That record stood until the Artemis II lunar flyby in 2026. Collins was also not the first person to orbit the Moon alone: John Young had done so on Apollo 10 two months earlier.
Life after NASA
Apollo 11 was his last spaceflight. He left NASA in 1970 and served as Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs. From 1971 to 1978 he was director of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, overseeing the construction of its building on the National Mall and its opening in July 1976, timed for the US Bicentennial. The museum quickly became one of the most visited in the world. He later became undersecretary of the Smithsonian, worked in the aerospace industry, ran his own consulting firm, and retired from the Air Force Reserve as a major general in 1982.
He was also a gifted writer. His 1974 autobiography, Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journeys, is still widely regarded as one of the best books written by an astronaut: honest, funny and clear about both the danger and the beauty of spaceflight. He also wrote Flying to the Moon and Other Strange Places (1976), Liftoff (1988) and Mission to Mars (1990). In later life he painted, fished and competed in triathlons.
Collins married Patricia Finnegan in 1957; she died in 2014. They had three children, including the actress Kate Collins.
How he was remembered
His family said in a statement that he "spent his final days peacefully, with his family by his side", and that he had faced his illness with the same grace and humility he brought to the rest of his life. NASA's acting administrator, Steve Jurczyk, called him a pioneer and a friend to everyone who pushes the limits of human potential.
What many people remember most is how he described Earth from lunar distance: tiny, shiny, blue and white, beautiful, serene and fragile. That view, shared by only a few dozen people in history, shaped how he talked about the planet for the rest of his life.
Of the Apollo 11 crew, Neil Armstrong had died in 2012, and Buzz Aldrin, then 91, was the last surviving member when Collins passed away. Collins was buried at Arlington National Cemetery in 2023.
His story is a useful reminder that the famous moments of exploration rest on people whose work happens out of sight. Collins never minded that role. He saw himself as an essential part of a three-man team, and the record shows he was right.
Sources: NPR: 'Forgotten Astronaut' Michael Collins dies; Wikipedia: Michael Collins (astronaut); Wikipedia: Apollo 13.
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