Andrew Chaikin
Andrew Chaikin has authored books and articles about space exploration and astronomy for more than 25 years. He is active as a lecturer in public and private venues, and frequently visits schools of all grade levels to talk about space-related topics. Chaikin is best known as the author of A Man on the Moon: The Voyages of the Apollo Astronauts, first published in 1994. This acclaimed work was the main basis for Tom Hanks HBO miniseries, From the Earth to the Moon, which won the Emmy for best miniseries in 1998. Chaikin spent eight years writing and researching A Man on the Moon, including hundreds of hours of personal interviews with each of the 23 surviving lunar astronauts. Apollo moonwalker Gene Cernan said of the book, I ve been there. Chaikin took me back. A new edition of the book, with an after word entitled, “A People Without Limits,” was being published in the fall of 2007. Chaikin co-edited The New Solar System, a compendium of writings by planetary
Young orbited the moon in Apollo 10, and made a lunar landing with Apollo 16. “In an iconic display of test pilot ‘cool,’ he landed the space shuttle (STS-9) with a fire in the back end,” NASA said.
Origin
In April and May 2021, after the death of renowned former astronaut Michael Collins, a colorful old quotation, widely attributed to him, reemerged online.
One meme in particular became popularonFacebook and on the online forum Reddit. It contained a photograph of Collins, shown in the center, along with his Apollo 11 crewmates Neil Armstrong (left) and Buzz Aldrin (right). The text in the meme was as follows:
When Neil Armstrong was pondering what his first words on the Lunar surface would be during the Apollo 11 landing, Command Module pilot Michael Collins jokingly suggested:
“If you had any balls, you’d say ‘Oh my God, what is that thing?’ then scream and cut your mic.”
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STORY WRITTEN FOR CBS NEWS & USED WITH PERMISSION
NASA astronaut Michael Collins inside an Apollo command module simulator. Credit: NASA
Michael Collins, the man who stayed behind aboard the Apollo 11 command module while crewmates Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended to the moon and walked into history, has passed away after a battle with cancer, his family announced Wednesday. He was 90.