• News
  • Film and TV
  • Music
  • Tech
  • Features
  • Celebrity
  • Politics
  • Weird
  • Community
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • Tyla
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
YouTube
Submit Your Content
Forgotten astronaut of Apollo 11 made candid admission as he orbited the Moon alone

Home> News> US News

Published 16:34 21 Jul 2024 GMT+1

Forgotten astronaut of Apollo 11 made candid admission as he orbited the Moon alone

Michael Collins was dubbed the 'loneliest man in history' as he waited for his pals Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to return from the Moon

Joe Yates

Joe Yates

History's forgotten astronaut, who accompanied Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to space as man set foot on the Moon for the first time, wrote an eerie message as he waited for his pals.

Yes, 55 years ago yesterday (July 20), NASA sent Apollo 11 to the Moon but there was one person who joined Commander Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Aldrin in the space shuttle.

Buzz Aldrin stands beside the American flag as Neil Armstrong snaps the picture. (Bettmann/Getty)
Buzz Aldrin stands beside the American flag as Neil Armstrong snaps the picture. (Bettmann/Getty)

At 8.17pm on July 20, 1969, the iconic duo successfully landed the Apollo Lunar Module Eagle on Earth's only natural satellite, and the two took pictures including footprint on the Moon and Aldrin saluting the US flag.

Advert

Armstrong was the first person to stand on the Moon, coining the phrase: "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

They would then spend two hours and 36 minutes walking on the surface before taking the Lunar Module to the spacecraft, where Michael Collins was left in isolation.

He was dubbed the 'loneliest man in history' as he orbited the Moon while his colleagues landed on it.

Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. ( Space Frontiers/Getty Images)
Commander Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. ( Space Frontiers/Getty Images)

Advert

Collins, who died of cancer at the age of 90 in 2021, only had himself, his thoughts, and a pen and paper - where he made a candid admission saying he was 'sweating like a nervous bride' waiting for his buddies to return.

He wrote: “My secret terror for the last six months has been leaving them on the Moon and returning to Earth alone; now I am within minutes of finding out the truth of the matter.

"If they fail to rise from the surface, or crash back into it, I am not going to commit suicide; I am coming home, forthwith, but I will be a marked man for life and I know it.”

While he said no more on why he thought he would be a marked man for life, it is understood it was because he would be returning without them as if he deserted them - despite him having no control over their return.

Advert

Collins was dubbed the 'loneliest man in history' as he waited for his colleagues Armstrong and Aldrin to return from their two-hour-36-minute Moon walk. (Bettmann/Getty)
Collins was dubbed the 'loneliest man in history' as he waited for his colleagues Armstrong and Aldrin to return from their two-hour-36-minute Moon walk. (Bettmann/Getty)

Later, he went on to write a book about becoming the person furthest away from Earth, titled Carrying the Fire: An Astronaut's Journey.

He wrote: “I am alone now, truly alone, and absolutely isolated from any known life. I am it. If a count were taken, the score would be three billion plus two over on the other side of the Moon, and one plus God knows what on this side.”

Aldrin is the last living man who took to space as part of the Apollo 11 mission, with Armstrong dying at the age of 82 in 2012.

Advert

Aldrin, who is now 94, Armstrong and Collins, were all born in 1930.

Featured Image Credit: Bettmann / Contributor/Getty/ Space Frontiers/Getty Images

Topics: History, Moon, NASA, Space

Joe Yates
Joe Yates

Joe is a journalist for UNILAD, who particularly enjoys writing about crime. He has worked in journalism for five years, and has covered everything from murder trials to celeb news.

X

@JMYjourno

Advert

Advert

Advert

  • NASA is launching your name to the Moon and it's completely free
  • ‘Forgotten astronaut’ of Apollo 11 reveals the one thing he realized after landing on the moon
  • Eerie Apollo 11 photo of Earth taken by ‘most isolated astronaut in the universe’ has people freaking out
  • Heartwarming reason why there is a single photo sitting on the moon

Choose your content:

25 mins ago
an hour ago
  • Jimmy Kimmel Live via YouTube
    25 mins ago

    Exactly what Jimmy Kimmel said to get his show taken off air as Trump speaks out

    'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' has been axed after 22 years following the talk show host's comments following Charlie Kirk's death

    Film & TV
  • Getty Images/Icon Sportswire
    an hour ago

    Terrifying audio shows moment ATC screamed at Spirit Airlines pilot after getting too close to Air Force One

    Air traffic control audio sparked alarm

    News
  • Instagram/neyo
    an hour ago

    Ne-Yo answers question everyone's thinking about his relationship with four girlfriends

    The singer has gone into the details of how his relationship works

    Celebrity
  • Rexburg Police Department
    an hour ago

    Death row inmate shares bizarre letters from jail after being found guilty of murdering his wife and two stepchildren

    They're definitely a peculiar read

    News