A legend passes

Photo credit: nasa

NASA astronaut, Micheal Collins, best known for his mission that put United States astronauts on the moon, has passed away from cancer. He was alongside Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on the Apollo 11 mission. After the men successfully navigated to the lunar surface, the space race ended with the Soviet Union, declaring America the winner. Although he never stepped foot on the moon, he occupied the command module for over 28 hours while Armstrong and Aldrin explored. Apollo 11 and its crewmates launched from the Kennedy Space Center located in Cape Canaveral, FL. The successful Apollo 11 mission is a pivotal moment in space exploration and NASA history. Collins was 90 years old and outlived his two crewmates, who died in 2012.  One of Collin’s most famous statements was, “Exploration is not a choice really — it’s an imperative, and it’s simply a matter of timing as to when the option is exercised.”