Michael Collins, the 'forgotten' astronaut of Apollo 11, dies at 90

(file photo) Apollo 11 astronaut Michael Collins speaks at a panel discussion on the 50th anniversary of the launch, in Cocoa Beach, Florida

American astronaut Michael Collins, who as pilot of the Apollo 11 command module stayed behind on July 20, 1969, while Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin travelled to the lunar surface to become the first humans to walk on the moon, died on Wednesday at age 90, his family said. A statement released by his family said Collins died of cancer. Often described as the ‘forgotten’ third astronaut on the historic mission, Collins remained alone in the command module for more than 21 hours until his two fellow astronauts returned in the lunar module. He lost contact with mission control in Houston each time the spacecraft circled the dark side of the moon. ‘Not since Adam has any human known such solitude as Mike Collins,’ the mission log said, referring to the biblical figure.