Why did Michael Collins have to stay in the module?

As Armstrong declared “one giant leap for mankind”, Collins remained waiting in the command module orbiting 100km above. The plan had always been that if Armstrong and Aldrin crashed or were unable to leave the moon’s surface, Collins was to head back to Earth alone.

Who is the loneliest person on earth?

Michael Collins, known as the “loneliest man in history” for being the often-forgotten astronaut who stayed aboard Apollo 11 and orbited the moon alone while his teammates took man’s first steps on the moon, died Wednesday at age 90, his family said.

How long did Collins work alone on the Moon?

So while fellow astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin traveled to the surface of the moon in the lunar module, Collins worked alone in the command module for 21.5 hours, running systems checks, performing moon observations, and communicating with Mission Control when he could.

What did Phil Collins do in the Apollo 11 mission?

He served as the astronaut responsible for communicating with the crew from Mission Control. For his second and final mission in space, Collins served as command module pilot for Apollo 11. Each Apollo mission had two spacecraft — a command module (“Columbia”) and a lunar module (“Eagle”).

Why did Neil Armstrong and Neil Collins not return to the Moon?

Collins also was concerned that the lunar module had never been fired on the moon. The astronauts knew there was a chance that Armstrong and Aldrin could remain stranded on the lunar surface or, if the engine didn’t burn long enough, be lost in space, leaving Collins the sole survivor of the historic mission.

Who was the 3rd person on the Moon with Neil Armstrong?

Michael Collins, Apollo 11 Command Module Pilot. As Neil Armstrong and Edwin “Buzz” Aldrin took man’s first steps on the moon, a third crew member orbited high above. Astronaut Michael Collins waited in the command module while his fellow astronauts spent more than 21 hours on the lunar surface.