Passing of Michael Collins Leaves 5 Surviving Astronauts from Apollo Lunar Landing Missions

by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor

The death of Apollo 11 command module pilot Michael Collins on Wednesday at the age of 90 means there are now five surviving astronauts from among the 18 who participated in the six Apollo landings on the moon from 1969 through 1972. Thirteen of the 29 astronauts who participated in the 11 Apollo missions that began in 1968 remain with us today.

Surviving lunar landing mission astronauts include Collins’ Apollo 11 crewmate Buzz Aldrin, 91, who walked on the moon with mission commander Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969. Armstrong passed away at the age of 82 on Aug. 25, 2012, following heart surgery.

In addition to Aldrin, three other moon walkers remain with us: Apollo 15 commander David R. Scott, 88; Apollo 16 lunar module pilot Charles Duke Jr., 85; and Apollo 17 lunar module pilot Harrison “Jack” Schmitt, 85. Apollo 16 command module pilot Ken Mattingly II, 85, who orbited the moon, is the other survivor from the six missions to land on the lunar surface.

Collins orbited the moon in the Apollo 11 Command Service Module, never setting foot on the surface. He wrote in “Carrying the Fire,” a memoir of his flying career, that prior to the historic flight, chief astronaut Deke Slayton had offered him command of a future Apollo mission. Collins turned it down, not wanting to put himself and his family through the additional years of intense training required.

Many people assumed Collins was lonely as he orbited the lunar far side, with Armstrong and Aldrin exploring the near side and billions of people back on Earth. Collins wrote this was a false impression; there was too much to do to feel lonely.

Many Apollo astronauts have lived into their 80’s. Collins was one of six astronauts to become a nonagenarian. The other five, who remain with us, include:

• Frank Borman II, 93 (Apollo 8)
• Jim Lovell, 93 (Apollo 8, 13)
• James A. McDivitt, 91 (Apollo 9)
• Buzz Aldrin, 91 (Apollo 11)
• Thomas Stafford, 90 (Apollo 10).

Other astronauts from the program who are still alive include:

• Walter Cunningham, 89 (Apollo 7)
• William Anders, 87 (Apollo 8)
• Fred Haise Jr., 87 (Apollo 13)
• Russell “Rusty” Schweickart, 85 (Apollo 9).

All six astronauts from the Apollo 8 and 9 missions remain with us. The lunar landing crews of Apollo 12 and 14 have passed away. The crew of Apollo 1 perished in a flash fire during a ground test prior to a planned 14-day Earth orbit mission.