Q&A
What did Michael Collins do during the Moon landing?
• SHORT ANSWER
Far from being lonely, his thoughts were on his colleagues – both human and mouse
• LONG ANSWER
As Neil Armstrong took his “one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind” on the Moon in July 1969, shortly followed by Buzz Aldrin, one man was left behind in lunar orbit. For that, Michael Collins was dubbed the “loneliest man in history”, but he never thought of himself that way. Piloting the command module kept him busy with vital procedures and preparing for rendezvous 24 hours later.
He even enjoyed the peace and quiet of the 45-minute spell of each orbit when out of communication with Mission Control on the dark side of the Moon. Of course, he worried about his Apollo 11 crewmates getting back safely, but he later admitted that his thoughts also strayed to a colony of white mice back on Earth. They would be part of the quarantine process, and if they got sick, it meant he and the other two had brought back unknown space germs.
41
The number of years that the Empire State Building held the title of tallest building in the world, from 1931 to 1972, finally being eclipsed by the World Trade Center, also in New York.