Neil Armstrong is known for being the first person to set foot on the Moon and delivered the line famous words "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."
Buzz Aldrin is known for being the second person to set foot on the moon, following his mission commander, Neil Armstrong.
This year marks the 40th anniversary of the lunar landing. On July 21, 1969, just in the nick of time of President John F. Kennedy’s declaration in the early sixties that before the end of the decade, we will land a man on the moon.
Little is know about Brigadier General Michael Collins despite his contributions to space history. I only encountered his name last Sunday while watching Discovery channel where they have a show about the Lunar Landing. I’m pretty sure it was discussed in science class but his name just didn’t ring a bell as much as Buzz Aldrin or Neil Armstrong. Or I was day dreaming the time his name was being discussed. In fact, when I checked wikipedia.com for Michael Collins, you’ll be prompted to 20 namesakes compared to only one for Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. But that’s not his fault. It’s also not his fault that he was assigned to man the Apollo Command/Service Module on that fateful 21st day in July 1969 when Armstrong and Aldrin became part of history. He was a TEAM PLAYER in the truest sense and he had to make the SUPREME SACRIFICE of traveling 768,806 kilometers from earth to the moon (round trip) and not to set foot on it because somebody has to take care of the ride back home. I salute you, Michael Collins.
