Michael Collins | Universe Today

Written by John Carl Villanueva

Of the three astronauts who served as crew for the historical Apollo 11 mission, Michael Collins is perhaps the least popular. And having a very prominent Irish revolutionary leader for a namesake sometimes injects a certain degree of confusion. Nevertheless, unless Universe Today has shifted to featuring IRA stories, we all know which Michael Collins I’m referring to now.

Michael Collins is the guy who’s largely responsible for why superstar astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin made it back to Earth. Had he opted to jettison them (well, don’t ask me why he would do that), our youngsters would have missed out on Buzz’s rap collaboration with Snoop Dogg.

Alright, if you haven’t figured it out yet, he flew the Command Module around the Moon while Aldrin and Armstrong were busy making footprints on the lunar soil. You see, the Lunar Module, which the two A’s used to land on the moon, was not equipped to make the long trip back home – the Command Module (along with the Service Module) was.

So, to get back to Earth, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin’s Lunar Module had to rendezvous with the rest of the Apollo spacecraft, which Michael Collins was manning.

Michael Collins was born on October 31, 1930 in Rome, Italy. He’s actually an Irish American although we’re not sure whether he’s related with the Irish patriot mentioned earlier. Before joining NASA, he studied at the United States Military Academy, got drafted to the US Air Force, and pursued further studies at the USAF Experimental Flight Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base.

While Neil Armstrong opted to live a low-key life after Apollo 11, Michael Collins accepted relatively high-profile jobs. First, he served as Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs in the Department of State. He also became director of the National Air and Space Museum. After that, he then moved on to be undersecretary of the Smithsonian Institution. Before setting up his own business, he also held the Vice President position at LTV Aerospace.

Just like his crewmates, Michael Collins has been embraced by pop culture. There’s the Jethro Tull song, “For Michael Collins, Jeffrey and Me”, which touches on the feelings of being left behind. There’s the manga entitled 20th Century Boys, the mockumentary Operation lune, even a children’s book with the title “The Man Who Went to the Far Side of the Moon: The Story of Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins”.

Allow us to share with you two articles featuring Michael Collins:

Who Flew the Ship When Mike Collins Went to Sleep?
Still Mythbusting

Here are two from NASA

Statement from Apollo 11 Astronaut Michael Collins
Biographical Data

Tired eyes? Let your ears help you learn for a change. Here are some episodes fromAstronomy Cast that just might suit your taste:
How Old is the Universe?
The Big Bang and Cosmic Microwave Background

Filed under: Astronomy

Tags: Apollo 11, apollo program, Michael Collins, Moon