The Story of the 'Loneliest Man in the History of the World'

The American man has carried the special nickname - "the loneliest man in the history of the world " for decades of his life.

American man Michael Collins (born in 1930 in Rome, Italy) has a special nickname, which is "the loneliest man in the history of the world".

He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1952. Collins then joined the United States Air Force and became a test pilot before being selected by NASA for Astronaut Group 3 in 1963. Prior to the historic Apollo 11 mission, Collins flew into space aboard Gemini 10 in 1966, becoming the fourth person to walk in space.

Câu chuyện của — Astronaut Michael Collins

During the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the lunar surface, Collins piloted the command module Columbia, orbiting the Moon alone for nearly 28 hours.

The mission log recorded: "Since the time of Adam, no human has experienced the loneliness that Mike Collins experienced during each 47-minute orbit around the Moon." Because of this difficult and unique mission experience, the astronaut was called "the loneliest man in the history of the world" by the media and the public.

Not only was he alone in his mission, he was also the forgotten astronaut, for he was the only one to remain on board Apollo 11 and orbit the moon alone while his teammates took the first steps of man on the moon. Later, his colleagues were the names often mentioned and honored.

However, in a 2019 interview with NPR, Collins shared, "I don't think loneliness was really the problem, except that it seemed to be in the minds of the press at the time."

Michael Collins was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor, and was inducted into the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame.

In April 2021, the veteran Italian astronaut died at the age of 90 after a battle with cancer. NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk paid tribute to Collins in a statement: "Today, the nation lost a true pioneer and lifelong advocate for exploration in astronaut Michael Collins."

After the Apollo 11 mission, neither Collins nor his teammates Armstrong and Aldrin flew into space again.

After retiring from NASA, Collins worked in government and was director of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, from 1971 to 1978. He later advocated sending humans to Mars. In 2009, he said: "Sometimes I think we're flying to the wrong place. The Moon isn't a particularly interesting place, but Mars is, and Mars is the closest thing to a sister Earth we've found yet."

Buzz Aldrin (91 years old) wrote on Twitter in memory of his teammate: "Dear Mike, wherever you have been or wherever you will be, you will always have the Fire to carry us skillfully to new heights and into the future. We will miss you. Rest in peace."

Although he only experienced flying around the Moon once, the overwhelming feeling Michael Collins experienced was a lifelong one. In a message posted on his personal page on Earth Day, Collins wrote: "I am sure that if everyone could see the Earth floating outside their window, every day would be #EarthDay."

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