Oriental Network Longitudinal News Reporter Shea River
According to CNN, on April 28, local time, American astronaut Collins, who piloted the first human lunar landing spacecraft "Apollo 11", died of cancer at the age of 90.
(Pictured: On June 19, 1969, before the Apollo 11 lunar mission, Collins performed simulation exercises in a simulator at the Kennedy Space Center.) Photo: Reuters)
Collins is often referred to as the third astronaut "forgotten" on this historic mission, and the only one who did not land on the moon. His mission was to take control of the ship and ensure that the three astronauts could return to Earth.
After landing on the moon in Apollo 11's lunar module, Collins spent 27 hours alone in the command module, flying around the moon 14 times until his two companions returned in the lunar module. Each time the spacecraft bypassed the dark side of the moon, he lost contact with Mission Control in Houston.
The lunar mission log reads, "Since Adam, the progenitor of mankind, no one has known what loneliness is like Collins."
(Photo: Reuters)
But Collins didn't think so. In his 1974 autobiography, The Battle of the Backwaters, he recalled, "I didn't feel lonely or abandoned at all, and I felt like I was part of the lunar surface." To say that this position is the best of the three is to lie; but I can say with all my heart that I have no complaints about my position. This mission requires three people to complete together, and my task is as important as the other two. ”
He wrote, "It's not that I don't feel alone at all. There was, especially the moment I disappeared on the far side of the moon and radio communication with Earth came to an abrupt end. I am alone, truly a human being, completely cut off from any known life. There are three billion plus two people on the other side of the moon, and I'm the only one on this side plus God knows something else. I could feel it all intensely, but not fear or loneliness, but the unknown, anticipation, satisfaction, and euphoria. I love the feeling that there are only stars outside my window..."
(Pictured: Three astronauts on the Apollo 11 lunar mission, with Collins in the middle.) Photo: Reuters)
ACTING NASA Director Jurchik praised Collins as a "true pioneer."
Collins was born in Rome on October 31, 1930, the same year as two other lunar astronauts who died in 2012, Armstrong and Aldrin. His father was a major general in the Army, and he graduated from West Point like his father.
Originally, Collins was an Air Force test pilot. In 1963, he was selected by NASA to participate in the Astronaut Program, which was in its early stages, but at the height of the Cold War, the United States tried to fulfill President Kennedy's promise to land humans on the moon before the former Soviet Union, thus strengthening the program.
In July 1966, as a pilot for Gemini X, Collins went into space for the first time. It was one of NASA's missions to prepare for the Apollo program. His second spaceflight was the Apollo 11 lunar landing that went down in history.
After the three astronauts successfully returned to Earth, Collins avoided much of the media propaganda that welcomed the astronauts back to Earth.
(Pictured: Collins on the right.) He spoke with Kabbana, director of the Kennedy Space Center, on July 16, 2019, about the moments leading up to the launch of Apollo 11 50 years ago. Figure/CNN)
After working in the government for a while, Collins became curator of the National Air and Space Museum, which he stepped down in 1978. In addition, he has co-authored a number of space-related books.
He said his strongest memory of Apollo 11 is looking back at Earth and finding that it seems "fragile" and that "I believe that if the world's political leaders could see their planet from a distance of 100,000 miles, their vision would change radically." Important boundaries will not be visible, and noisy arguments will be suppressed. ”