Michael Collins was an American astronaut who was born on October 31, 1930, in Italy. Before he became an astronaut, Collins was an Air Force pilot. He has flown over 5000 hours.
Collins became an astronaut in 1963. He has spent over 264 hours in space on 2 spaceflights.
In 1966, Collins piloted Gemini 10. He made two spacewalks during this three day mission. In 1969, Collins piloted Apollo 11. This mission entailed the first lunar landing. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon in their lunar module while Collins stayed in orbit around the moon with the command module.
Collins left NASA in 1970. He then worked at the Smithsonian and later, started his own engineering firm. He has written several books, including his memoir of his journeys in space and a children's book.