1930-

American astronaut who orbited the Moon aboard the Apollo 11 command module Columbia during the first manned lunar landing in July 1969. Collins's skill at rendezvous and docking, developed on the Gemini 10 mission in 1966, made it possible for moon-walkers Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to return safely to Earth. He went on to direct the National Air and Space Museum and to write a widely praised memoir, Carrying the Fire (1973).