Apollo 11’s ‘third astronaut’ reveals secrets from dark side of the moon

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that remarkable feat of technology and daring.

And while the moonwalkers, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin, dominate our memories of the moon landing, there’s a third astronaut who deserves his place in history.


Michael Collins piloted the Apollo 11 command module spacecraft in lunar orbit while his two colleagues collected moon rocks.

In a rare interview he tells Sarah Abo if it wasn’t for him, one of our greatest successes would have been a monumental failure.