But without explanation, Aldrin - the only person alive to have stepped foot on the moon - failed to appear. Collins, 88, was famously left alone aboard the Apollo 11 command module, Columbia, tending to the ship as mission commander Neil Armstrong and Aldrin took the first lunar steps. The 88-year-old, who since the moon landing has led a reclusive life, said he wished Aldrin and Armstrong could have been with him at the launchpad. On Monday he tweeted he was “preparing for more Apollo 11 celebrations this week”. Aldrin and Collins are the two surviving astronauts who were joined by Armstrong on the 238,000-mile journey to the moon.

Source: Daily Mirror July 16, 2019 22:07 UTC