“Forgotten” astronaut Michael Collins has died aged 90.

Collins was best known as the crew member who joined Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on their trip to the Moon. But he never actually got onto the lunar surface, staying in orbit as they descended.

In a statement, his family said that he had died on 28 April after a “valiant battle with cancer”.

“Mike always faced the challenges of life with grace and humility, and faced this, his final challenge, in the same way,” the family said. “We will miss him terribly. Yet we also know how lucky Mike felt to have lived the life he did. We will honor his wish for us to celebrate, not mourn, that life.

“Please join us in fondly and joyfully remembering his sharp wit, his quiet sense of purpose and his wise perspective, gained both from looking back at Earth from the vantage of space and gazing across calm waters from the deck of his fishing boat.”

Read More