“There is but one Earth, tiny and fragile, and one must get 100,000 miles away to appreciate fully one’s good fortune in living on it.”
– Michael Collins, NASA astronaut, command module pilot for the Apollo 11 mission to the moon.
What struck me deeply about this particular quote is that Michael Collins died a week ago on April 28th, 2021. He was part of the crew of Apollo 11 along with Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Neil Armstrong died in 2012 and Buzz Aldrin, who is now the lone surviving member of the mission, celebrated his 91st birthday this past January.
When Apollo 11 landed on the moon I was in my next-to-last quarter at Georgia Tech, working on a BS in Aerospace Engineering. So, along with millions of other people, I was glued to the TV during the entire mission, including of course the famous first step by Neil Armstrong and his famous statement about what had been done. I certainly remember other NASA astronauts, but these three men represented the completion of the challenge President Kennedy had given the nation.
Michael Collins orbited the moon 30 times while his crew mates made history on the moon for man. However, while his passing marks the sad loss of a man who had the right stuff, he clearly understood what the Apollo 11 mission would establish in the history of mankind. – Dr. Tom
