China News Agency, Houston, April 28_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E5%AE%87%E8%88%AA%E5%91%98 "> astronaut < / a > Michael · < a target ="_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E6%9F%AF%E6%9E%97%E6%96%AF "> Collins < / a > died of illness in Florida on the 28th local time at the age of 90 According to the associated press, Michael Collins' family said in a statement on the 28th that Michael Collins died on Wednesday after a tough fight against cancer, "Michael always faced the challenges in life with grace and humility, and he spent the last days of his life with the same attitude." According to the Washington Post, on July 16, 1969, the US "Saturn 5" rocket carried "< a target ="_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E9%98%BF%E6%B3%A2%E7%BD%9711%E5%8F%B7 "> Apollo 11 < / a >" was launched from Launch Pad 39A of Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida < p > "Apollo 11" spacecraft consists of three parts, "Columbia" command module, "Eagle" lunar module and service module providing power, electricity, oxygen and water. On July 20, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin left the spacecraft in the lunar module_ blank" href=" https://news.163.com/news/search?keyword=%E6%9C%88%E7%90%83 "> the moon < / a > landed on the surface and became the first human to set foot on the moon. Michael Collins flew the command module alone in a 60 mile orbit around the moon for nearly 28 hours, waiting for the lunar module to return. On July 24, three astronauts returned to earth in the command module < p > during the mission to the surface of the moon, Collins on the "Columbia" was unable to contact his teammates and the Mission Command Center on earth because the radio transmission signal was blocked by the moon. Some called him "the loneliest man in history" < p > after the Apollo 11 mission, none of the three astronauts returned to space. Armstrong died in 2012. Aldrin, 91, paid tribute to Collins on social media twitter on the 28th: Dear Michael, no matter where you are, you will always spread the fire and lead us to the future

NASA's acting director Steve ulchik said in a statement on the 28th that NASA mourns the loss of this outstanding astronaut, who will remain in the annals of American space history forever Collins was born on October 31, 1930 in a famous military family in Rome. After the United States joined the Second World War, Collins settled in Washington with his father. In 1952, Collins completed his bachelor's degree at West Point and joined the US air force as a fighter pilot and test pilot. In 1963, he became a candidate astronaut for NASA After leaving NASA in 1970, Collins served as assistant secretary of state in charge of public affairs for one year. Later, he was appointed to create the National Museum of Aeronautics and Astronautics. After retirement, Collins lived in Florida for a long time In the preface of "flying to the moon: the story of an astronaut", Collins expects people to invest more in space exploration and Mars landing missions. "I'm too old to fly to Mars, I'm sorry, but I still feel very, very lucky," he wrote